Survivors Unlimited, an initiative of Healing Journey Retreats, hosted a virtual workshop titled ‘Grief in the Workplace: A Guide for Leaders’ on Wednesday (March 19). The session gave leaders the tools to navigate grief in professional environments.

The workshop featured keynote speaker Dr Diane Bergeron, senior research scientist at the Centre for Creative Leadership, alongside other distinguished presenters, including Dr Cassida Jones-Johnson, president of the Human Resources Management Association of Jamaica (HRMAJ), and Dr Peter Weller, clinical and community psychologist. Executive leadership and strategy coach Marguerite Orane also contributed to the discussions.

Founder and president of Survivors Unlimited, Lorraine Jones-Lawrence, noted the importance of fostering workplace environments that acknowledge the challenges of bereavement.

Dr Bergeron addressed the impact of grief on productivity and employee well-being, offering insights on how leaders can support grieving team members while maintaining organisational efficiency. She noted the importance of monitoring your staff, to ensure their well-being.

“Even if someone seems fine initially, they may not be fine in the long term,” she said. “Do not make assumptions on how people are doing, check in frequently and if you can in the long term, remember the day that the significant loss happened, I think that means a lot for some employees.”

Not all companies have bereavement leave, and Dr Jones-Johnson noted that Jamaica needs to step up its efforts where that is concerned.

Dr Jones-Johnson highlighted the role of human resource professionals in implementing compassionate policies, while Dr Weller provided psychological perspectives on grief processing within corporate settings. Orane shared strategic approaches for integrating grief awareness into leadership development.

“As a leader… there are certain attributes we should have, hopefully naturally, but if we don’t, there’s emotional intelligence training that we can do to help us along the way,” said Jones-Johnson. “Compassion, sensitivity and flexibility, and the whole matter of how we respond when someone is unable to return to work.”

“There is something that we call psychological safety…the communication between you and a bereaved person depends a lot on that,” she added. “We’ve heard people talk about, I’m, leaving the company because the environment is toxic, so that’s something that we really have to minimize.”

Dr Weller noted that people are now living in a state of uncertainty having a “lack of sense of control”.

“In many ways grieving losses, that sometimes have not really been interpreted [becomes difficult],” he declared. “When we talk about drilling down into what is happening in the workplace, trying to create a holistic balance, life skills, and critical thinking skills that allow us to cope with the horrors of loss and bereavement and other losses such as natural and economic disasters, we really want to start thinking bigger.”

“Learning to manage loss is going to be critical,” he added.

Survivors Unlimited has focused on bereavement training for almost thirty years, guided by Jones-Lawrence’s dedication to supporting grievers. The organisation’s efforts continue to encourage discussions on grief management, particularly within professional spaces, ensuring that those who experience loss are met with understanding and meaningful support.

The workshop aimed to clarify current bereavement policies in Jamaican companies and provide leaders with tools for supporting employees who experience loss.