Grief is not limited to death.
It can begin with the loss of a relationship, the end of a personal chapter, or the slow fading of an identity someone once held. It can live quietly in the workplace — in silence, in disengagement, in the person who once led with energy but now avoids eye contact in meetings.
And yet, too often, workplace culture makes no space for grief unless it is tied to bereavement leave.
On Grief Awareness Day, it’s time to challenge that limitation.
Grief Wears Many Faces
Grief is a response to loss, and loss comes in many forms. The loss of a partner. The loss of a future someone planned for. The loss of stability, of health, of belonging.
In the workplace, grief may follow:
- A major health diagnosis or long-term illness
- The breakdown of a marriage or support system
- A miscarriage or fertility loss
- The sudden end of a project someone poured years into
- Redundancy or forced career change
- Cultural or identity disconnection in a changing environment
These experiences carry real emotional weight. But unlike death, they often go unacknowledged. There is no formal leave. No sympathy card. No words at all.
When Grief Goes Unseen, It Doesn’t Go Away
Employees experiencing grief may not speak about it, but the signs are often there.
- Disengagement and withdrawal
- Increased errors or forgetfulness
- Conflict avoidance or emotional reactivity
- Persistent fatigue or absenteeism
- A drop in confidence, initiative, or communication
Without proper support, grief becomes not only a personal burden but an organisational blind spot. And over time, it affects more than just one person. It impacts team morale, performance, and culture.
How Organisations Can Respond with Care and Clarity
Grief cannot be solved by policy alone. It requires presence, flexibility, and options that recognise every employee’s emotional reality.
SupportRoom is built for this.
We provide a flexible, clinically managed ecosystem that gives employees real support when they need it most and gives leaders the tools to act with insight, not assumption.
Therapy and Coaching
Whether someone is grieving a person, a future, or a part of themselves they feel they’ve lost, they can access therapy or coaching that meets them where they are on their terms.
MultiRooms
SupportRoom’s MultiRooms feature gives employees the freedom to choose the right kind of space: for healing, reflection, or moving forward. Private. Personal. Always accessible.
Serena
Our AI wellbeing coach is available 24/7. Serena is often the first step for employees who don’t know where to begin. She listens. She responds. And she helps people take the next step.
This Is What a Grief-Literate Workplace Looks Like
It doesn’t offer a checklist. It offers space. Flexibility. The freedom to show up as a full person, even in pain.
A grief-literate workplace understands that people carry invisible weight. And it builds systems that don’t ask employees to leave their humanity at the door.
Grief is not a disruption to performance. It is a part of life.
How organisations respond to it defines their culture.
On Grief Awareness Day, let’s commit to doing better.
SupportRoom helps organisations support grief in all its forms with structure, empathy, and insight.