Death is a difficult topic, to say the least, and one that's especially avoided in the workplace. But employers may be doing more harm than good by not investing more time and resources into bereavement benefits.
Empathy, an employee benefit platform that helps members navigate the administrative responsibilities and emotions of loss, surveyed 1,485 respondents who experienced the loss of an immediate family member in the last five years. The survey found that 92% of employees either take time off or adjust their work commitments to deal with loss, while 76% noticed their overall performance was harmed.
Death's impact goes beyond the individual employee — it can affect the workplace as a whole, from productivity to morale, explains Ron Gura, co-founder and CEO of Empathy.
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"We talk so much about the cost of living, but it's important for us as benefit leaders to remember the meaningful cost of dying as well," he says. "It's similar to what you're already doing when someone is just back from maternity, and you understand they're going through a transition. But in this case, by its nature, it's negative."
Loss comes with financial and emotional costs that are by no means met by the average three-day bereavement leave in the U.S. Gura challenges employers to go beyond the bare minimum and create a workplace that supports all life transitions.
Here are four findings from Empathy that employers should consider when building their bereavement policies.