It's easy for employees to share in their joyous occasions at work, but it's significantly harder to
More than 57% of Americans experienced a major loss over the last three years, according to a recent study from Amerispeak and WebMD. And yet, insurance company New York Life Foundation's recent State of Grief Report found that only 63% of respondents had dedicated time off specifically for bereavement, with just 47% receiving paid leave for such circumstances.
"Over the last few years more employers are looking across the spectrum of benefits as it relates to wellness," says Heather Nesle, president of New York Life. "There isn't much thought to the longer term consequences or opportunities to support employees beyond that initial incident."
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Thirty-five percent of employers offer
Using that kind of system is not only
"We're allowing them to define who a loved one is even though we know all relationships are different," she says. "Not everybody is in sort of a nuclear family as far as traditional definition holds and you can be just as deeply affected by losing a good friend or somebody who isn't in that restrictive definition that companies have traditionally used."
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Growing Demand For Grief Support
It's not from lack of employee demand, either. In fact, 71% of employed adults expressed interest in
This means that meeting those needs are not only beneficial for employees' overall wellness, but also for a company's longevity.
"When employees are distraught you're probably not going to get the best out of them anyways," Nesle says. "So one of the key things for employees to consider is how to be gentle and thoughtful with folks in the aftermath. Giving them space to communicate and time to take care of things is what will ultimately lead to greater productivity from those employees, as well as greater loyalty to that company."
New York Life formally
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"For the most part, people have the best intentions and the things that people say to grieving folks usually are born out of personal experience," Nesle says. "Nobody wants to upset somebody more than they already are, but there are a few key concepts and tips that can keep the things that are said appropriate."
Guidelines For Respectful Grief Support
For example, the guide warns colleagues and management
"We celebrate marriages and babies and all these different major life events in the workplace and death is that as well," Nesle says. "We should all really be thinking about how we are supporting colleagues through it all because they bring their whole selves to work and equipping them with the right language and information can be wha helps them better adjust back into their day to day life."