5 Practical Ways HR and Business Leaders Can Support Employees Through Grief.

Grief is not just a personal struggle—it impacts employees’ well-being, productivity, and engagement at work. For HR professionals and business leaders, supporting grieving employees is not only the right thing to do but also essential for fostering a compassionate and resilient workplace.

However, many organisations lack clear policies, guidance, or training on grief in the workplace. This can leave managers unsure of how to respond and employees feeling unsupported. Here’s how HR and leadership can take proactive steps to create a culture that acknowledges grief and offers meaningful support.

1. Normalise the Conversation

Many employees hesitate to share their grief at work, fearing they will be seen as unprofessional or weak. As HR and leadership, you can break this stigma by ensuring grief is acknowledged, not avoided.

✔️ Encourage managers to say "I’m sorry for your loss" instead of avoiding the topic.
✔️ Offer a private check-in, allowing the employee to share (or not) at their own comfort level.
✔️ Foster a workplace culture where personal challenges, including grief, are met with understanding rather than silence.

When grief is normalised, employees feel psychologically safe to communicate their needs—helping them reintegrate into work in a way that feels right for them.

2. Be Flexible with Policies and Work Arrangements

Grief doesn’t follow a timeline, and a rigid bereavement policy can leave employees feeling unsupported. While statutory bereavement leave exists, many employees need more flexibility as they navigate their emotions and responsibilities after a loss.

🔹 Review your bereavement policy to ensure it is compassionate and inclusive.
🔹 Offer flexible work options, such as hybrid or remote work.
🔹 Encourage managers to adjust workloads when necessary, avoiding unrealistic expectations for grieving employees.

A supportive work environment reduces stress and prevents burnout, ultimately benefiting both the employee and the business.

3. Recognise the Long-Term Impact of Grief

Grief doesn’t end after the funeral. Anniversaries, birthdays, and holidays can trigger fresh waves of sadness, sometimes months or years later. HR and leadership teams should acknowledge that grief is a long-term journey.

📌 Encourage managers to check in periodically, even after the initial bereavement leave.
📌 Allow flexibility for time off on difficult days, such as anniversaries.
📌 Provide resources like Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) or workplace support groups.

By recognising the ongoing nature of grief, you create a workplace where employees feel valued—not just as workers but as people.

4. Equip Managers with the Right Tools

Managers are often the first point of contact for grieving employees, yet many feel unprepared to navigate these conversations. Without the right guidance, even well-intentioned managers may say the wrong thing or unintentionally apply pressure.

HR can take the lead by:
✔️ Providing grief awareness training for managers.
✔️ Ensuring bereavement policies are clear and accessible to all staff.
✔️ Encouraging a culture of active listening and compassion within leadership teams.

When managers are trained to handle grief with confidence and empathy, it reduces discomfort and improves employee well-being.

5. Lead with Compassion for a Stronger Workplace

Workplaces that prioritise compassion benefit from higher employee retention, loyalty, and engagement. Leaders set the tone, and when HR teams and business leaders show care and flexibility, it fosters a positive work environment.

💡 Encourage a workplace culture where employees feel safe to be human.
💡 Train managers to support their teams beyond just productivity metrics.
💡 Recognise that a compassionate response to grief strengthens team morale and company reputation.

A business that cares for its people builds a workforce that is engaged, committed, and resilient—even in times of difficulty.

HR Leaders: Are You Prepared to Support Grieving Employees?

Empower your managers with the tools they need to support grieving employees effectively. Our Grief Awareness for Managers course provides practical strategies to navigate grief in the workplace with confidence and care.

 Learn more here!

New Year, New Feelings: Embracing the Emotional Tide

As we step into 2025, I want to take a moment to reflect on the range of emotions that come with leaving one year behind and entering another. Not everyone welcomes this transition. For some, the passage of time feels heavy, especially when you're grieving. It’s that strange phenomenon where you resist time moving forward because every new season cements the reality that your loved one is no longer here. Each change feels like a painful reminder of what’s been lost.

Then there’s the other side—a desperate wish to leave a tough year behind. When the days have felt impossibly long and challenging, a new year can offer a clean slate, a chance to start again. Interestingly, I often experience this feeling in September, perhaps a carryover from school days when the academic year began.

These emotions ebb and flow, shifting with life’s circumstances. I’ve had my share of both—moments when I wanted time to stand still and others when I couldn’t wait to move forward.

For me, 2024 felt like a turning point—a year of self-development, where I started to truly listen to myself. Maybe you’ve had a year like that too, where you began to realise your own strengths or faced moments that taught you how to set boundaries. It’s not always easy, but every step counts.

As I approach a milestone birthday, I’m finding this passage of time oddly liberating. Reflecting on where I’ve been and where I am now, I see a major shift. In the past, I was a hardened people-pleaser, often prioritising others’ needs at the expense of my own. But 2024 taught me something valuable: I don’t have time to indulge in situations that drain me or distract me from the path I want to follow.

Whether you’re grieving, navigating big changes, or simply feeling reflective, the new year brings a unique blend of emotions. And that’s okay. There’s no ‘right’ way to feel about this time of year—it’s as individual as each of us.

This year has also brought the launch of The Flying Fish Company, a project that’s pushed me far out of my comfort zone. Recording podcasts, delivering workplace grief courses, and stepping into the spotlight on social media have been challenging but deeply rewarding. After such a tough few decades, it finally feels like the tide is turning.

Looking ahead, I’m filled with anticipation for 2025 and all it promises—my "big birthday" included. As I reflect on my growth, I encourage you to think about the moments that shaped your year—both the challenges and the victories. What have you learned about yourself?

Whatever this year may bring, I’m ready to embrace it. I hope you are too and if you’re not that’s OK too, sometimes just surviving seems enough.

Coping with Grief at Christmas: Finding Your Own Way Through the Holidays

The festive season is often painted as a time of joy, togetherness, and celebration. But for anyone grieving, it can feel like navigating a minefield of expectations, memories, and emotions. The pressure to conform to holiday traditions, to smile through the pain, or to "make the most of it" can be overwhelming.

I remember my first New Year’s Eve after being widowed. It wasn’t just any New Year—it was the Millennium. The world seemed to buzz with anticipation, but I felt completely disconnected from it all. Instead of forcing myself to join the countdowns and celebrations, I decided to host a beach style party, I was lucky enough to have friends that accommodated this. It wasn’t about celebrating; it was about escaping the weight of everyday life, which felt too real, too raw. That night, I created my own space to breathe, to feel, and to simply exist on my own terms.

If you're grieving this Christmas, give yourself permission to step away from the pressure of tradition and expectation. Do what feels best for you, whether that’s keeping things low-key, embracing something completely different, or even skipping it altogether.

Remember, those who love you will understand your choices. And those who don’t…well, they’re not your responsibility. Your grief is yours to navigate, and your well-being must come first.

This holiday season, give yourself the gift of grace. Whether it’s a quiet day in, a walk by the sea, or a completely new tradition, choose what feels right for you. The people who truly matter will support you in carving out your own path, one step at a time.

Let go of expectations. Honor your grief. And most importantly, honor yourself.

If this blog resonated with you, I invite you to learn more about my work and mission here on my homepage.

For more personal reflections and insights, listen to my podcast, Navigating Life After Loss, where I share stories, tools, and experiences to help you on your own journey. Tune in here.

Or explore why Grief Awareness Training matters and how it can transform workplaces into compassionate spaces of support. Learn more here.

National Grief Awareness Week: Why Talking About Grief Matters

A heartfelt thank you to Paul Graham for sharing this stunning image of sunrise on South Shields Beach. It beautifully reflects the solitary and deeply personal nature of the journey through grief.

Grief. It’s one of those words that makes people uncomfortable. We don’t know what to say, how to act, or even how to acknowledge it sometimes. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned—through personal loss and working with so many others navigating the waves of grief—it’s that talking about it changes everything.

National Grief Awareness Week (December 2–8) is here to remind us of that. It’s about breaking the silence, making space for the hard conversations, and recognising that grief touches us all in different ways.

Grief and the Workplace: A Quiet Storm

When I lost my husband to suicide, the weight of grief felt unbearable. But what made it even harder was stepping back into the workplace, carrying that heavy load and pretending to be okay. It felt like there wasn’t room for the pain I was feeling, and I quickly learned that so many others feel the same.

Grief doesn’t stay at home when you come to work—it shows up with you, whether you want it to or not. That’s why creating supportive workplaces matters so much. It’s not just about policies like bereavement leave (though those are important). It’s about people—colleagues, managers, entire teams—knowing how to show up for someone in their hardest moments.

We’ve talked about this a lot in my webinars:

• Language shapes connection. Even imperfect words can offer comfort and acknowledgment, while silence may unintentionally deepen the pain.

• Cultural and spiritual traditions hold deep meaning. Grief is expressed in ways shaped by personal beliefs, and respecting these differences fosters understanding and inclusivity in the workplace.

• Time matters. Grief doesn’t end after a few weeks or months—it’s a lifelong journey.

Why This Week Matters to Me

This week is personal for me, not just because of my own story but because of the stories I hear every day. The colleague who felt lost trying to support a grieving teammate. The manager who wanted to help but didn’t know where to start. The person who came back to work after a loss and felt like no one noticed or cared.

National Grief Awareness Week is about changing that. It’s about creating workplaces—and a world—where grief isn’t something we brush under the carpet. Where people can show up as they are, messy emotions and all, and know they’ll be met with compassion.

What Can We Do?

So, what can we do? It doesn’t have to be big or complicated.

• Start the conversation. Whether it’s at work, at home, or with a friend, ask how someone is really doing. And then listen.

• Learn more. Grief is so individual, and understanding different perspectives—cultural, religious, or personal—can help us support others better.

• Look at your policies. If you’re an employer, ask yourself: Are we really supporting our employees in their grief?

These small steps add up.

A Shared Journey

At The Flying Fish Company, I talk a lot about the waves of grief—how they come and go, often when we least expect them. It’s a journey that none of us can escape, but it’s one we don’t have to navigate alone.

This week, I hope we can all take a moment to reflect on how we show up for others in their grief. Whether it’s a colleague, a friend, or even ourselves, let’s commit to being present, to listening, and to making space for all that grief brings.

We can’t change the fact that grief exists, but together, we can make it a little less lonely.

Let’s keep the conversation going—this week and beyond.

If you would like to read more about Why Grief Training Matters click here

Shining a Light in the Darkness: Launching the Grief Awareness Series

Helen celebrating the launch of the Grief Awareness Series website after a canny day out in York, feeling refreshed and inspired.

Today marks a significant moment in my journey. I’m incredibly proud to officially launch the Grief Awareness Series for Workplaces, a project that has been shaped by both personal experience and a deep desire to make a difference. This isn’t just a new chapter for my business—it’s the realisation of a vision rooted in compassion, resilience, and hope.

For me, this work is deeply personal. When my first husband died by suicide, I returned to work carrying a grief so heavy it felt insurmountable. In that difficult time, I realised how much a workplace can either alleviate or amplify the challenges of loss. Sadly, I discovered that many workplaces lack the understanding and tools to truly support grieving employees. While time has passed, the need for compassionate spaces in the workplace remains just as critical.

This is why I founded The Flying Fish Company—to shine a light into the shadows of grief and guide workplaces toward becoming environments of support and understanding. The Grief Awareness Series is my way of helping employers and teams build those spaces, offering practical tools and heartfelt insights to navigate the complexities of grief together.

Creating this series has been an incredible journey, filled with moments of reflection, hard work, and hope. It represents my core belief: that compassionate workplaces don’t just benefit individuals—they build stronger, more connected teams. Grief touches everyone, yet it’s often treated as a taboo topic in professional spaces. My goal is to change that.

Launching this series is a step toward fostering workplaces where people feel seen, heard, and supported, no matter what life throws their way. It’s about bringing humanity back into the heart of work and helping others find resilience, even in their darkest moments.

To everyone who has supported me along the way—thank you. Your encouragement has been a beacon of light, reminding me that this work matters. I can’t wait to see the ripple effects of these trainings as workplaces begin to transform into spaces of true compassion and care.

If you’d like to learn more about how the Grief Awareness Series can help your workplace, click here to read more

Let’s build a brighter, more compassionate future together. 💙

— Helen
Founder, The Flying Fish Company