Handling Death and Bereavement at Work

by Charles-Edwards; David

• ISBN13: 9780415347242
• ISBN10: 0415347246
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781134277582
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-05-17
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

3,500 people die every day in the UK and their death may affect the workplace in many ways. If the deceased was an employee, for example, or the partner of an employee, their manager will need to sort out the difficult issues that arise from death. This workbook places bereavement on the management agenda rather than leaving managerial responses to chance. It is a guide for anyone in an organization who, in the case of death, has to take responsibility, from managers, human resource and occupational health specialists, to welfare officers and trade union representatives.

Table of Contents

About the author	xiii
Acknowledgements	xv
Foreword	xvii
Ross Warburton
Introduction	xix
Peter Twist
SECTION 1 Dealing with loss and bereavement	1	(62)
What are loss and bereavement?	3	(15)
`Nobody dies wishing that they spent more time at the office'	3	(1)
Defining bereavement	4	(1)
The task of bereavement	4	(2)
Multiple losses	6	(1)
Secondary losses, at and away from work	6	(3)
The impact of bereavement on relationships	9	(3)
`In mourning'	12	(1)
Collective grieving -- public and private	12	(3)
Dismissal as loss	15	(3)
Aspects of bereavement	18	(26)
Introduction	18	(1)
Relief	19	(1)
Dreams	20	(1)
Three phases of grief	21	(1)
Ten elements of bereavement	22	(18)
Bereavement and stress	40	(1)
The way that stress comes out	41	(3)
Children and young people	44	(13)
Introduction	44	(2)
Children's grief	46	(1)
School	47	(1)
Saying goodbye	48	(1)
The meaning of death	49	(1)
Young people and mourning	50	(2)
Viewing the body	52	(1)
The funeral	52	(1)
Children of a parent who has committed suicide	53	(1)
Supporting each other	54	(3)
Bereavement counselling	57	(6)
What is bereavement counselling?	57	(1)
Why bereavement counselling?	58	(2)
How to start	60	(1)
Timing	60	(3)
SECTION 2 Facing death	63	(56)
What is death and what does it mean?	65	(14)
Introduction	65	(1)
Death and modern society	66	(2)
Diversity of beliefs	68	(1)
What happens when we die?	68	(2)
Some personal thoughts about the meaning of death	70	(6)
Rita and her gift through death	76	(3)
Ignoring death	79	(3)
The death of death?	79	(1)
Death happens to other people	80	(1)
The death taboo	80	(1)
Unhelpful attitudes towards death	81	(1)
Preparing for dying and death	82	(13)
Facing death together or alone	83	(1)
The tasks of preparing for death	84	(3)
The emotional response to dying	87	(3)
Supporting the dying	90	(1)
The healing process	91	(1)
A new model of strength	92	(1)
Active and passive responses to dying	93	(2)
The practical tasks after someone has died	95	(5)
Selecting an undertaker or funeral director	95	(1)
Registering the death	96	(1)
Funeral arrangements	96	(1)
Flowers or donations?	97	(1)
Letting people know	97	(1)
The will	98	(1)
Letters of sympathy	98	(1)
State benefits	98	(1)
Children	98	(1)
Throwing things away	98	(2)
Suicide, stress and bullying	100	(19)
Helping to prevent avoidable suicide	100	(2)
The impact of suicide on bereavement	102	(1)
An overview of suicide	103	(2)
Stress and work	105	(3)
Bullying at work	108	(1)
Young people at risk	108	(1)
Suicide, work, unemployment and men	109	(1)
Suicide and money	110	(1)
How can I spot someone at risk of suicide?	111	(1)
Signs of suicide risk: what can I do?	112	(1)
Voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide	112	(7)
SECTION 3 The community, death and bereavement	119	(30)
Funerals and rites of passage	121	(12)
Support over the funeral from the organisation	121	(1)
The purposes of the rites of passage	122	(2)
Cremation or burial?	124	(2)
Offering the body for medical education or research	126	(1)
Cremation	126	(1)
Greener funerals	127	(1)
Funeral costs	127	(1)
The funeral	127	(4)
A Service or Meeting of Thanksgiving or Remembrance	131	(2)
Culture, religion and death	133	(16)
The influences of culture on our response to death	133	(3)
Spiritual support	136	(2)
Religion and death	138	(1)
Some of the main religious and irreligious approaches	139	(7)
Working with your own experiences	146	(3)
SECTION 4 The workplace, death and bereavement	149	(62)
Is It Any of Our Business?	151	(8)
`Least said, soonest mended'	151	(2)
Emotional Literacy and Leadership	153	(2)
Loss, change and transition	155	(1)
Barriers breaking down between work and personal life	156	(1)
Support and motivation	156	(3)
How the organisation can help	159	(12)
Organisational culture, atmosphere and core values	159	(3)
Compassionate leave policy	162	(3)
Payments of benefits following death	165	(1)
Carers	165	(2)
Induction and training	167	(1)
An in-service staff support network	168	(1)
Bereavement counselling	169	(2)
How people in different roles at work can help	171	(10)
Company bereavement adviser(s)	171	(2)
The human resources or personnel manager	173	(2)
The line manager, team leader or supervisor	175	(2)
The shop steward or staff representative	177	(1)
The colleague	178	(1)
The work group	179	(1)
Teams as families?	179	(2)
Helping the bereaved person at work	181	(15)
Parallels between bereavement and preparing for death	182	(1)
The terminally ill member of staff	182	(2)
When someone dies	184	(1)
Reticence and openness at work	185	(2)
Am I going mad?	187	(1)
Repetition and time-scales	188	(1)
Viewing the body	189	(1)
The funeral	190	(1)
Returning to work after someone has died	191	(1)
What not to say and what to say	191	(1)
The `cross over to the other side' response	192	(1)
Practical help	192	(1)
Solidarity with the bereaved	193	(1)
Taking care of yourself	193	(3)
Death at work	196	(15)
When someone dies at work	196	(1)
Accidents and murders	197	(2)
Police statement-taking	199	(1)
The organisation's response to a death at work	199	(1)
The initial visit by the line manager	200	(3)
Debriefing	203	(2)
Responding to anger	205	(1)
Support options	205	(1)
Follow up by the line manager	206	(1)
A follow-up period of one-to-one counselling	207	(1)
Visits from senior management	208	(3)
SECTION 5 Case studies	211	(10)
The death of a colleague and a friend	213	(1)
The death of a partner	214	(2)
The death of a father	216	(2)
The death of a daughter	218	(3)
SECTION 6 Appendices	221	(24)
Checklists	223	(9)
A checklist for the bereaved person	223	(5)
A checklist for helping bereaved children	228	(1)
A checklist for the organisation: support over the funeral	229	(1)
A checklist for the bereaved person: returning to work	229	(1)
A checklist for colleagues: when a bereaved person returns to work	230	(1)
A checklist for friends, relatives and neighbours: how to support people during bereavement	231	(1)
The core conditions of helping	232	(3)
Further reading	235	(4)
Organisations supporting the bereaved	239	(6)
Index	245