The C.A.R.E. model of employee bereavement support.

Abstract

Virtually every employee will experience bereavement and grief at some point in their careers, but organizations are often ill-prepared to support grieving employees. Little empirical work has been conducted on the experience of grief in the workplace, and this study answers calls for research on the subject. We interviewed bereaved employees (N = 14) who continued to work full-time. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis conducted by three independent coders. The results suggested four key themes that characterized effective bereavement support in the workplace and that together comprise the C.A.R.E. model of bereavement support—vis: (1) communication, (2) accommodation, (3) recognition of the loss, and (4) emotional support. The results provide insight into critical ways that employers, leaders, and coworkers can support grieving employees.

The impact of sleep quality on mental health in working Australians: A quasi-experimental approach

“…Additionally the availability of welfare and support for employees, such as sleep hygiene education, behavioural therapies, and emotional support programs in case workers facing adverse shocks to their life would help build resilience among workers from poor sleep and mental ill-health (Gilbert et al, 2021;Kaku et al, 2012;Gardner et al, 2018).…”

Opening Commentary: We Have to Talk About the “D” Word

“…How can organizations support bereaved employees? Based on in-depth interviews with bereaved individuals who returned to work, Gilbert and colleagues 30 developed the C.A.R.E. model for bereavement support in the workplace.…”

Monday Mourning: A Call for the Study of Bereavement in the Workplace

“…The first theme is the differing types of bereavement. For instance, half of the qualitative papers focused on collective bereavement (e.g., a shared group loss, such as that of a coworker; Han, 2012;Hyde & Thomas, 2003;Kessler et al, 2012;Peticca-Harris, 2019) while the remainder focused on individual bereavement (i.e., a personal loss occurring outside of work; Gilbert et al, 2021;Hazen, 2003Hazen, , 2006Porschitz & Siler, 2017). This distinction is important as it highlights the isolation of individual bereavement.…”

“…The third theme is individual outcomes of bereavement at work. Prior studies evidence some of the shorter-term impact of bereavement on work, including withdrawal behaviors (e.g., interaction avoidance; Hyde & Thomas, 2003), difficulty keeping up with work demands (e.g., concentration issues, lower productivity; Gilbert et al, 2021;Hyde & Thomas, 2003;Peticca-Harris, 2019;Porschitz & Siler, 2017), reduced meaningfulness of work, longer-term identity changes (Porschitz & Siler, 2017) and shifts toward more meaningful work roles (Hazen, 2003(Hazen, , 2006. Although this small-scale qualitative work is informative, we do not know the extent to which most individuals are impacted, how long these impacts last, and if there are specific bereavement patterns among larger samples.…”