The Irish Hospice Foundation - Grief in the Workplace Workshop: A Manager's Guide

Experiencing a bereavement is one of the most difficult challenges in life yet it is a universal experience that most of us will go through at some point in our lives. The majority of people will be employed at the time they experience this and considering people spend equal to or more of their waking hours at work, employers are primely positioned to support employees during this challenging time. Outside of our immediate social networks, managers are often the first people an employee will contact when they are bereaved so their response is critical both in the immediate and longer term. The right support can have far reaching impacts on employee wellbeing, their ability to carry out their jobs and their likelihood of sticking around.

The Irish Hospice Foundation is hosting a workshop, delivered through a mix of education, interaction, and activity, to equip managers with the skills to understand grief. Managers will be able to use this knowledge to support employees and contribute to better grieving environments. The workshop will examine effective workplace support across 4 key areas: environment, people, practices and governance, and how good grief support can contribute to better employee wellbeing. The workshop also looks at how managers themselves can practice self-care in the context of grief in the workplace. 

The workshop takes place on Thursday 15^th May and full details and registration can be found here. 

As part of this course attendees will also receive free access to The Irish Hospice Foundation’s eLearning on Developing a Bereavement Policy https://elearning.hospicefoundation.ie/courses/developing-a-bereavement-policy-for-hr-professionals/

Grief in the Workplace Position Paper: Making the Case for Good Grief and Bereavement Care in the Workplace  

The Irish Hospice Foundation have developed a paper on the ethical, legal and business case for grief in the workplace. You can read the full document here.

This document not only presents the case but also uses a workplace health promotion framework informed by the WHO, Healthy Ireland and the Health and Safety Authority to set out the key areas- workplaces should focus on when implementing a grief in the workplace programme.  

If you would like to find out more check the Grief in the Workplace Hub here.

Or alternatively contact the Irish Hospice Foundation by emailing workplacegrief@hospicefoundation.ie  

Ibec Members can also access bereavement resources via the Diversity and Inclusion section of the website.