Should Employee Emotional Well-Being Be a Leader’s Responsibility?

A reader wrote to an advice column in the New York Times back in January. He sought counsel on dealing with a boss that didn’t understand the emotional trauma and grief he felt over the loss of a close friend, who was a former boss and mentor in the company. The fact that his boss did not recognize his grief not only further complicated and deepened the impact of the situation for this person, the situation was now to the point that the person was thinking of leaving the company.

The answer this person received from the columnist frustrated us here at GriefLeaders. The columnist said something to the effect that this person was expecting too much from their boss; that it was the boss’s job to manage the person’s performance, not help him deal with his grief.

There is a better way of dealing with these situations

All too often, leaders of emotionally traumatized or grieving employees jump to managing performance rather than engaging with the employee to understand the circumstances better. When this happens, either the employee chooses to leave or the employee is managed out of the organization.

At GriefLeaders, we believe there is a better way . . . a way where the leader takes responsibility for the worker’s emotional well-being and helps the emotionally traumatized employee excel at work.

Leaders of emotionally traumatized employees need to engage in the grieving process and support their people when they need it most

So how do leaders help grieving employees excel at work? They engage the employee through the Adaptive Leadership process which encourages leaders to lead with the courage to:

1. Have the often awkward, emotional, and uncomfortable conversations that accompany the stages of grief.
2. Take responsibility for their employee’s emotional well-being.
3. Adapt their leadership style to lead and support their employee compassionately.
4. Involve their entire team in the process to help ensure the work continues to get done while lessening the burden for the grieving employee.

When leaders demonstrate the courage to help emotionally traumatized employees excel at work, performance improves

According to a study by The Grief Recovery Insititute, the impact of grieving employees costs US companies an estimated $75 billion annually. These costs result from the distractions associated with grief. Some of those distractions are mental, such as the inability to concentrate, while others are physical, resulting in time off work.

Leaders can have a significant impact on the outcomes associated with these situations. By engaging in the Adaptive Leadership process, leaders can see engagement, loyalty, morale, retention, and productivity all improve, not just with the emotionally traumatized or grieving employee, but across the entire team.

Managers manage policies and performance of tasks. Leaders inspire people, especially in difficult times. Managers add to the grief emotionally traumatized employees feel by threatening their employment. Leaders help grieving employees excel by supporting them and helping them through the difficult times.

To continue to learn more about leading emotionally traumatized or grieving employees, follow us on LinkedIn

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Anthony Casablanca

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