Acknowleging Employees’ Grief: The Role of Organizational Support

Although the loss of a loved one is a major life event and a common experience among employees, work-related research on the effects of loss and bereavement on employee well-being is scarce, with no current unifying research framework to date. In this chapter we discuss the difficulties of returning to work after the loss of a loved one. By adopting a broad occupational perspective, we consider the employee’s experience as well as the individual and organizational related outcomes. We introduce a theoretical framework for the study of employees’ grief outcomes and discuss supportive personal, organizational, and contextual factors that may attenuate these relationships. This chapter intends to raise organizations’ and HR practitioners’ awareness to the challenges grieving employees face, as well as to outline relevant actions and policies organizations can adopt to provide support.