Supporting Grieving Coworkers

Summer 2026 Issue

Carson’s Village assists thousands of families navigating loss and grief and provides ongoing support throughout their healing journey. Along this path, we’ve noticed a significant gap in educational resources on grief and loss, so we launched the Finding the Time newsletter series to share meaningful insights, updates, and support strategies in the bereavement field.

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month this May, we’re dedicating this edition to Supporting Grieving Coworkers and recognizing the important role compassion and understanding play in workplace mental health. Grief can affect employees in many different ways, often showing up through changes in focus, energy, communication, or emotional well-being. Read on for insight into how grief may present in the workplace, research on bereavement and mental health, and resources to help support grieving colleagues with care and empathy.

Grief in the Workplace

By the Numbers

Research continues to show the impact grief can have in the workplace. A recent workplace bereavement report found that many employees experienced declines in mental health, focus, and productivity after a loss, while also feeling unsure about how to ask for support or how coworkers would respond.

In the study, participants who experienced a loss related the impact on them personally as:

Supporting Coworkers

Supporting grieving coworkers doesn’t require having the perfect words. Often, the most meaningful support comes from simple acts of kindness:

Checking in consistently
Acknowledging the loss
Offering flexibility when possible
Understanding that grief may continue long after bereavement leave ends
Creating space for employees to feel supported without pressure to “move on”

Further Resources

At Carson’s Village, we believe understanding grief is part of supporting mental wellness. That’s why we’re sharing these helpful workplace grief resources from our Carson's Village Resource Library:

Supporting the Supporter: Partner With Us

At Carson’s Village, we know that bereaved families are best supported when the people surrounding them feel equipped, confident, and supported in their own roles. That is why we created Bereavement Village, our commitment to “supporting the supporter.”

Through Bereavement Village, we partner with hospital systems, school districts, municipalities, and companies to strengthen the environments surrounding grieving families and employees. We provide specialized trainings, workshops, CEU opportunities, and practical resources that empower professionals to compassionately support bereaved individuals while also helping prevent compassion fatigue and burnout.

Whether navigating the death of an employee, supporting a grieving coworker returning to work, or serving families experiencing loss in a professional setting, Bereavement Village helps organizations build cultures of compassion, confidence, and care. Together, Carson’s Village and Bereavement Village work to support the entire ecosystem around bereaved families because no family should navigate grief alone, and no supporter should feel unprepared to help.

To learn more about partnering with Bereavement Village, visit us here.

Thanks for reading along with this installment of the Finding the Time newsletter series. Do you have a topic in the grief and bereavement field that you would be interested in learning more about? Contact us here

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Carson's Village

2904 Floyd Street

Dallas, TX 75204

Supporting Grieving Coworkers

In this newsletter:

Grief in the Workplace

Supporting Coworkers

Further Resources

Keep In Touch