The Grief We Don’t Make Space for Is Costing Us All

Last year, I wrote about grief in the workplace—and since then, the numbers have only grown more sobering.

In 2025, nearly 40% of employees report crying at work in the past month. Not because they’re unprofessional. But because they’re human—carrying burnout, personal loss, and unprocessed grief into environments that often expect them to “push through” and perform as usual.

For many organizations, grief is still treated as a short-term disruption—something addressed with three to five days of bereavement leave and an unspoken expectation that employees will return “back to normal.”

But grief doesn’t work on a corporate timeline.

Grief Is Not Rare—It’s Common

Each year, one in nine employees experiences a significant loss. That may include:

• The death of a loved one

• Divorce or the end of a long-term relationship

• A serious health diagnosis

• Burnout from caregiving

• The loss of identity, safety, or plans for the future

There are over 40 different losses we may experience in our lifetime, and yet, most workplace policies only acknowledge grief when it comes in one socially acceptable form—and even then, only briefly.

The result?

• $75 billion annually in grief-related productivity losses

• 44% of employees considering leaving their jobs when support after loss is inadequate

• A growing disengagement crisis, costing companies $9,000 per disengaged employee per year

The Grief Leaders Don’t See Is the Grief That Lingers

Grief rarely looks like tears in a meeting—though sometimes it does.

More often, it looks like:

• Brain fog and reduced concentration

• Withdrawal from collaboration

• Missed deadlines from overwhelmed nervous systems

• Employees “checking out” long before they resign

Research shows that 16.6% of employees report severe grief symptoms, and 26% meet criteria for PTSD, often connected to cumulative loss and workplace trauma—including the death of coworkers. In 2023 alone, 5,283 U.S. workers died on the job, with over 135,000 deaths from occupational diseases, impacting entire teams.

When grief isn’t acknowledged, it doesn’t disappear—it just goes underground.

Compassion Is a Retention Strategy

Here’s what leaders may not realize:
When employees feel genuinely cared for, they are 60% more likely to remain at a company for three or more years.

Employees are telling us what they need:

• 71% say bereavement benefits matter when choosing a job

• Most need more than 3–5 days to stabilize after a loss

• Some require weeks—not days—of flexibility in the months following

Grief also carries a financial burden for employees themselves—an average “grief tax” of $12,500, with more than half relying on credit cards to manage expenses. Expecting full productivity while someone is navigating this reality is not resilience—it’s unrealistic.

What Compassionate Leadership Looks Like

Compassion doesn’t require perfection; it requires presence.

It can look like:

• Expanding bereavement policies beyond death—and beyond one week

• Offering flexible schedules or returns in phases after loss

• Training managers to respond with humanity, not silence or avoidance

• Normalizing conversations about grief without forcing disclosure

• Understanding that healing is not linear

• Recognizing productivity follows support, not pressure

The question is no longer whether grief belongs in the workplace. It’s already there.

The real question is whether leaders will continue paying for it through disengagement, turnover, and silent suffering—or choose a more compassionate, sustainable way forward.

Because when we make space for grief, we don’t lose productivity… we restore trust.

A Note for Leaders and HR Partners

I speak with organizations and leadership teams about grief in the workplace—what it costs when it’s ignored, and what becomes possible when it’s handled with humanity and intention.

If your organization is rethinking its approach and would benefit from conversation, training, or consulting around grief-aware leadership, I welcome a confidential conversation.

Sources & Research
• AFL-CIO – Workplace Fatalities, Occupational Disease & Worker Wellbeing Data
• Forbes – Workplace Grief, Bereavement Leave & Employee Retention Insights
• World Economic Forum – Employee Engagement, Retention & Workforce Wellbeing
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (referenced via AFL-CIO reporting)