Guest: Tamara Fox, Consultant @ LOEB Leadership
Tamara covered a ton in a short amount of time! Here’s the TLDW; (or you could just hit play!)
Personal and Professional Motivation:
- Tamara Fox’s focus on grief and trauma in the workplace is driven by her personal experiences with significant losses and trauma.
- Her work addresses the gap in organizational support for employees dealing with grief.
Current Organizational Trends in Grief Support:
- Most companies rely on standard bereavement leave (3-5 days) and EAPs, lacking long-term, proactive support.
- Organizations often react to immediate grief but fail to provide ongoing support, leading to employee dissatisfaction and turnover.
Management’s Critical Role:
- Managers are the first point of contact during grief, making their response crucial.
- Proper training for managers on responding with empathy and asking open-ended questions is essential.
- Managers should focus on allowing employees to guide the support they receive rather than making assumptions.
Impact of Poor Support:
- Inadequate support often leads employees to leave within a year of their loss.
- Key issues include lack of empathy, poor communication, and feelings of isolation from management.
- Effective support from managers can significantly improve employee retention.
Building a Compassionate Workplace Culture:
- Compassionate support should be a company-wide initiative, modeled by leadership and embedded in the culture.
- Consistency in handling grief across teams is crucial to avoid confusion and neglect.
Effective Reentry Practices:
- Managers should schedule a check-in on the employee’s first day back, offering options to share or focus on work.
- Gradual reentry should align with the employee’s preferences, avoiding assumptions that may feel punitive.
Key Message for Leaders:
-Grief is inevitable; leaders must approach it with compassion, creating an environment where employees feel safe to express their needs.
-Compassionate leadership strengthens both employee support and organizational culture.