Grief Literacy at Work: Why Leaders Know There’s a Problem but Don’t Know What to Do
Leaders see grief in the workplace but don’t know how to respond. This article breaks down grief literacy and why it’s the missing competency.
Last week, I wrote about grief literacy and how the real issue isn’t grief itself.
It’s the environments around it.
I adapted that piece for an organic LinkedIn article (my first), and the response was immediate and overwhelming receiving nearly 100 comments in a matter of days. Not just engagement, but incredibly obvious recognition.
Leaders See the Problem, But Lack the Language
What stood out wasn’t people agreeing with the idea. It was how many people in leadership roles said some version of the same thing:
They see this happening. They feel it. They just don’t know what to do with it.
People shared that they’ve had employees return to work after loss and didn’t know how to respond.
That they worried about saying the wrong thing, so they said nothing.
That they tried to support someone, but felt like they were either overstepping or not doing enough.
That they were balancing compassion with performance expectations and didn’t feel equipped to do either well.
It’s safe to say this isn’t a fringe issue. It’s already happening inside organizations. Some perhaps more quietly than others.
There was also something else that surprised me.
When the conversation turned to grief literacy itself, almost no one could define it.
People understood the problem.
They could describe the discomfort, the tension, the uncertainty.
But they didn’t have language for what was missing.
That gap matters. Without language, we default to instinct. And instinct, in this case, usually looks like:
Avoiding the conversation
Trying to fix something that isn’t fixable or
Interpreting behaviour through a performance lens.
One person shared that what made it possible for them to return to work after loss wasn’t policy.
It was people.
Someone who acknowledged them, and made space. Someone who didn’t pretend nothing had happened. Even after they left that position, they stayed in contact with the person who showed them compassionate leadership when they needed it most.
It set a precedent, and that’s what stayed with them.
Grief Is Already in the Workplace
Another pattern came through clearly. Grief is already in the workplace.
It’s not something that needs to be introduced or accommodated later.
It’s already there. But most environments still treat it like it belongs somewhere else. One person commented, “Grief does not clock in and out. It walks into the workplace with people every single day, often unseen and unacknowledged. What stood out to me most is how many organizations still lack the language and confidence to respond to it well.”
That’s exactly where the breakdown happens. Because even when support exists outside of work, people still have to show up somewhere every day and grief doesn’t magically disappear. It’s an emotion that is extremely difficult to compartmentalize, depending where you’re at in the journey. The “waves” as we often hear people describe the sensation of active grief, can be unpredictable, ongoing and all consuming when they occur.
And that “somewhere” that people have be as functioning adults is usually a place that isn’t designed to hold the unpredictability of their grief.
So the issue isn’t whether grief belongs in the workplace.
It’s whether we acknowledge that its already there.
This is where grief literacy comes in.
Not as a concept.
As a competency.
What Is Grief Literacy, Really?
Grief literacy is the ability to:
Recognize how grief shows up
Interpret behavior in context
Respond without increasing pressure
Adapt environments in a way that’s realistic
Most people can do one or two of these well. Very few can do all four consistently.
What Happens When Grief Is Misunderstood
Without the capability of grief literacy, people get misread. That’s when things start to break down.
And when people are misread, they adjust. They push through when they shouldn’t, working at half capacity or less.
The emotional and physical impacts of grief spill over into the workplace. Bereaved employees have higher rates of absenteeism, are more likely to leave their jobs, and often experience reduced concentration, motivation, and decision-making capacity (see American Journal of Health Promotion, 2023).
The comments made something else clear. This isn’t about a lack of care. It’s because the environment doesn’t allow for anything else.
Why This Is a Leadership and Culture Issue
It’s about a lack of shared understanding.
That’s an important distinction.
Because it means this is fixable. Not by adding more policies or by outsourcing it entirely. But by building capability in the places where people already are.
Grief literacy isn’t about turning leaders into counsellors.
It’s about giving people the tools to respond to something that is already happening, in real time, in real environments.
If there’s one thing I’m taking from the conversation I’m observing, it’s this:
We don’t need more awareness of grief. We need more clarity on how to live and work alongside it in environments that haven’t considered it.
Where This Conversation Is Going Next
So I’ll leave you with the same question I’ve been sitting with.
Where in your environment are people being misunderstood when they’re navigating grief or loss?
And what is that costing—in focus, retention, trust, and decision-making?
This is the work, and it’s where I’m going next.
P.S. I’ve been continuing this conversation on LinkedIn, where more leaders are sharing how this shows up in their environments. If you want to follow along or contribute, you can find me there.