This past week has been pretty rough. My previous workplace lost a team member and this has got me thinking about the effects of bereavement on a team. We spend so much time with the people that we work with and although we don't always know all that much about their personal lives we do form relationships based on what we do at work and how we interact with others as we go about our tasks.

Death affects us all differently and there exists, I think, a very real need to acknowledge the different ways we grieve. The grief felt for the loss of a co-worker or team mate can be difficult to work through. We tend to assign to family members and friends a level of ownership of grief but the loss felt by those left behind at work can be severe as well.

Employers need to be aware of the effects bereavement can have on the workplace and put support measures in place to help their employees through difficult times. Having open lines of communication means that you will know when an employee is going through a tough time. Sometimes just offering a listening ear and some flexibility around work times can be enough.

In the case of a colleague passing away it is prudent to make sure everyone is able to attend the service and that there is support in place for those that would like it. Again, an open door policy works well (and should be a core aspect of your everyday operations), offering to host a team event to mourn as a group, organising counselling for anyone that might require it. There are a range of things employers can do so that employees feel supported. I think the crux of it is that most people want to feel that their employer cares.

I watched my old team mates as we came together to mourn the passing of a friend and realised that the family culture we had strove so hard to create had already existed. The concern each person showed for the other people in the team and the support that was offered to our colleague's family was inspiring.