Workplaces where bereaved colleagues receive support have lower staff turnover rates and higher morale levels, the Irish Hospice Foundation said yesterday.
More than 300,000 people - almost one in 10 employees - are directly affected by bereavement every year.
However, many companies have no supports in place to cope with this, according to Mr Breffni McGuinness, IHF training officer.
"Often managers and colleagues don't know how to help and understand the problems a bereaved colleague might be experiencing," he said.
Mr McGuinness said research by the American Hospice Foundation had found there were higher levels of commitment and better morale in workplaces where bereavement issues were openly addressed and colleagues were warmly supported.
He was speaking at the launch of three IHF seminars on grief and loss in the workplace.
The lunch-time seminars are aimed at managers and human resources personnel, and will give practical tips on supports for bereaved employees.
Mr McGuinness will present the first seminar on January 18th. This will look at the needs of employees who are caring for seriously-ill relatives.
Employers should ask if the carer needs flexi-time or the option of taking time off, he said. "Does the staff member need help with childcare arrangements?"
Ms Rosaleen Geraghty, employment assistance programme consultant, will present the second seminar on February 15th. This will look at what should be done when a work colleague dies.
She said the sudden death of a colleague could have "a very traumatic effect" on staff members. She recalled one incident where a by-pass patient was about to return to work but contracted an infection and died.
Staff had festooned bunting around the office to welcome him back but then found themselves looking at an empty desk. Eventually they asked that the desk be moved elsewhere.
The final seminar, on March 15th, will be presented by Dr Susan Delaney, IHF counselling psychologist.
She will discuss the ways colleagues can support a bereaved employee.
Ms Geraghty said employers should remember that "nobody grieves to a company timetable".
She said it was in the interests of employers to support their grieving staff.
"Remember when your staff member is suffering personally, your company is suffering economically," she said.
Ms Geraghty also encouraged employers to remember that people were also affected by practical issues such as pension rights, will probate and tax issues.
A bereaved wife might find she had no access to money as everything was in her husband's name. "She might never have written a cheque in her life," Ms Geraghty said.
Mr Shane O'Dea, human resource case consultant with Ulster Bank, said it was helpful if a friend of a bereaved colleague was nominated to deal with queries from the colleague's spouse.
The seminars, which cost €75 each or €200 for all three, will run from 12.30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on January 18th, February 15th and March 15th, at the IHF offices at Nassau Street in Dublin. For more information see www.hospice-foundation.ie
