Bereavement and Workplace Well-being by Anne Corden
1. Anne Corden
Social Policy Research Unit
University of York
Social Aspects of Death, Dying and Bereavement
British Sociological Association Study Group
Seminar on ‘The Impact of Death: Policy Implications in the 21st Century’
21 November 2011
2. Bereavement as a general life experience,
affecting all workplaces
Absence from work following bereavement
Return to work following bereavement
GPs’ involvement, and the interface with work
3. Projected rapid increase in number of deaths
Increase in retirement age
Bereaved employees: intensity of grief and loss
immediate needs at work
longer term impacts
Employers: organisational and managerial issues
time off
return to work
support at work
productivity
‘presenteeism’
Work colleagues: impact for bereaved person
impact for themselves
HR personnel: organisational and administrative issues
skills and training
referral for specialist support
Current review of bereavement benefits
4. Immediate emotional shock, and impact on
capacity
Time needed to deal with practicalities
People are different in attitudes to work
Employer’s approach to enabling time off:
Limited/unlimited leave of absence
Paid or unpaid
Annual leave
Sick leave
A ‘Black Box’ of behaviour and expectation in
UK
5. Employers’ arrangements to support return to
work
Some evidence that bereavement is followed
by leaving work
Some bereaved carers want to try work, or re-
engage after a long period away
Time lag in access to specific bereavement
services
6. Going to GP may seem a natural route for
support
Fitnotes and reasons for absence from work
Little is known about GPs’ attitudes and behaviour
around bereavement