We Don’t Know What to Do When Someone Dies at Work
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Kate Morfoot Explores Employee Grief and What Comes Next Grief in the workplace is far more common than most organisations are prepared for, yet it remains one of the least openly addressed aspects of working life.
Grief is the emotional, cognitive, and physical response to significant loss, most commonly the death of a loved one. It can affect concentration, sleep, emotional regulation, and day-to-day functioning, making the return to work a deeply complex experience.
Yet many workplaces still lack structured support when an employee is bereaved.
“When someone dies, the impact doesn’t stay at home, it comes into the workplace with them,” says Kate. “But most organisations are not equipped for that reality. We often expect people to return to work and carry on, when in fact they are still in the middle of grief.”
In the UK, Child Bereavement UK estimates that tens of thousands of children lose a parent each year, while millions of adults are affected by bereavement annually. Despite this scale, conversations about grief in professional settings remain limited, and many employees report feeling unsupported or unsure how to navigate their return to work.
Grief can also have significant long-term effects, including fatigue, anxiety, reduced concentration, and emotional overwhelm. In some cases, individuals may experience Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD), a recognised condition that can severely impact functioning.
Kate argues that the question is no longer whether grief affects workplaces, but how workplaces respond when it does.
So where do we go from here?
Finding Light in the Darkness explores not only the emotional experience of grief, but also practical ways individuals and organisations can respond more compassionately:
Acknowledging grief openly rather than treating it as a private issue
Creating supportive return-to-work conversations
Allowing flexibility in workload and expectations after bereavement
Encouraging peer and managerial understanding rather than silence
Recognising that grief does not follow a fixed timeline
Supporting employees beyond the initial leave period
“We need to move away from the idea that grief has a deadline,” Kate says. “People don’t return to ‘normal,’ they return changed. The question is whether workplaces are willing to meet them there.”
The book has been re-released with refreshed content and a new cover design, reflecting a renewed focus on modern grief experiences and practical support for both individuals and workplaces.
Finding Light in the Darkness is available to buy on Amazon, paperback £8.99, Kindle Edition £4.99 or free with Kindle Unlimited.