Grief Essay

The process of grief can evoke strong emotions and a sense of uncertainty and unease. It can hamper one’s ability to readjust to a daily life following bereavement. One instance, would be returning to work. Grief can express itself in many different forms in the workplace and can have an impact on a personal and organizational aspect. A survey conducted by the Ministry of Manpower (2016) found that 92% of employers in Singapore provided compassionate leave despite it not being mandatory in the Employment Act. This indicated that most organizations in Singapore are aware of employees’ need for a break following bereavement. However, the period is undetermined and left to the employers’ discretion. The Grief Index report (as cited from Perreault, 2011) surveyed people who returned to work after losing someone they knew. It concluded that although grief is a normal response and employees were typically given bereavement leave, the period covers the initial shock of their loss. When they return to work, they

The stress from grieving added onto the stress of their daily work can be overwhelming. This can result in stress-related responses, including compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma and burnout (Thieleman & Cacciatore, 2014). Consequently, this may contribute to absenteeism, illness, decrease in productivity and emotional outbursts (Perreault, 2011). If the supervisors and co-workers are unaware or uncomfortable with dealing with the grief of a bereaved employee, they may misinterpret their expressions of grief. As a result, they may discount their emotions and the individual would feel as though there was a lack of support from the organization (Manns & Little, n.d.). This can be an issue as their grief would be disenfranchised and the recovery process may be prolonged. In turn, prolonged grieving exacerbates effects of grief and stress levels (Perreault,