Working Through It: Reimagining Grief and Bereavement in the Workplace Post Covid-19

Grief and bereavement in the workplace is a complex endeavour to navigate at the best of times. Living in a death-denying society keeps us from knowing what to say or do in the face of loss, which is further complicated by the work-home divide that discourages employees from bringing personal issues into the professional realm.

However, the events of the COVID-19 pandemic have put death, loss, and grief at the forefront of consciousness, and blurred the lines between personal and professional as working from home became the norm for office employees.

This shift presents an opportunity to rethink how organizations approach grief and bereavement in the workplace. Though most people in the workplace will experience a significant loss at some point in their career, and the impacts of grief and loss can have negative consequences on work ability and the workplace, this subject has not been thoroughly researched. The losses and grief brought on by the pandemic are complicated and likely to have long-standing impacts on the mental health of employees.

In order to adequately support employees, build resilience, and continue to operate effectively, organizations need to reconsider and invest in grief and bereavement support strategies. This project utilizes user interviews, systems analysis tools, and a design thinking process to explore possible interventions that can be used in the workplace to enable more effective grief and bereavement support.