E039 Coworkers Facing Grief Together

First 100 Words
The news hits hard – a coworker has died. Maybe you knew the person really well, maybe you didn’t, but in either case the news momentarily freezes you, prompting you to consider the fragility of life and the priorities you bring to it.

Perhaps, at least for a moment, work doesn’t seem all that important anymore. But very quickly reality sets in, along with a sense of not knowing what to do next. You have a job to do. Life goes on. People around you are confused. There is no employee manual for this, no training and no expectation. But there are ways to cope and to honor the deceased without long-term disruption in the workplace . . .

When To Use
“What do we do?” “What do we say?” These common coworker questions have commonsense answers. Provides support, clarifies, helps prevent the pain of loss from becoming confusion over the process.

How to Use
Grief counseling, group work.