Lost Revenue – Just Get Over It

R. Glenn Kelly | July 20, 2017

Business and organizational leaders in the U.S. often avoid looking at the incredibly negative impacts of grief in the workplace. This is not difficult to understand, as anyone returning to work after the death of a loved one will do everything he or she can to “look” as if they are okay.

Anyone who has experienced the sad passing of a spouse, child, sibling, parent, or close friend will tell you that the bereaved do not “just get over it.” They may have to come back to work, but the vast majority will wear a mask that hides a great number of confusing and debilitating emotions which occupy their thoughts much more than the duties of the job.

It has already been established through study that businesses across the United States are losing over $75 Billion Dollars in annual revenue due to grief impacts on the workplace. This has been described as Hidden Loss, and correctly so. For one reason, the affected employees may consciously and subconsciously conceal their pains.

Another reason for the loss comes when the employer focuses only on the potential loss of an employee. If a business or organization has only 100 employees, an employee passing away may seem more rare than it actually is. The U.S. Center for Disease Control estimates that each year, approximately 1 out of every 1,000 people will die in this country. That means that a small company has a relatively small chance of losing an employee in any given year, but mid-size and larger organizations have thousands of employees nationally and internationally.

Losing even one employee a year is something we do not want to think about, but that is just the base of issue. On average, each employee on the rolls will have at least three immediate family members at home. That includes a spouse and two children, but does not take into account the employees parents and life-long friends.

While the loss of an employee brings issues of its own, it is the higher potential of an employee experiencing the death of a loved one which creates the much greater negative impact on the workplace. Figures with the U.S. CDC also show that the average age of an employee experiencing a profound loss puts him or her in the prime age of productivity.

The vast majority of bereaved employees, regardless of position, will return to work after the loss with a lack of concentration, impeded memory, mental and physical exhaustion, and so much more. Not only does this negatively affect his or her duties, but also the safety and well being of others at the workplace.

A study of of conducted by the Grief Recovery Institute Educational Foundation of Sherman Oaks, California looked at over 25,000 participants who has experienced loss and returned to work. in the study, it was revealed that:

• 85 percent of management-level decision makers indicated that their decision-making ranked from “very poor” to “fair” in the months following the grief incident that affected them.
• 90 percent of those in blue collar and other physical jobs indicated a much higher incidence of physical injuries due to reduced concentration in the months following the grief incident [compared to their ability to concentrate prior to the loss].
• 50 percent reported at least 30 lost days in which their value to the company or business was dramatically reduced, and may well have contained significant negative consequences in the form of poor decision making, poor supervisory skills, reduced sales ability and increased workplace accidents and injuries.

For a business or organization to uncover and reduce these hidden costs, as well as improve morale, welfare, and safety at the workplace, it has to be understood that it does have an impact, regardless of the number of employees you have, and needs to be addressed. No matter what steps are taken to aid the employee outside the workplace, such as participation in an Employee Assistance Program, the bereaved will return to work, where he or she will spend more awake time with managers and peers then they do with those at home. Understand; they do not Just Get Over It!