Grief & Work

workplace grief, bereavement policies, supporting grieving employees, grief-informed leadership, employee wellbeing

A thoughtful professional woman writing in a notebook at a modern office desk with a laptop and phone, reflecting on ambition, career goals and the life she wants to build after loss.

Grief and Ambition: Are You Losing Drive or Finally Being Honest?

Grief can change more than how you feel. It can change what you want from your career, your ambition and the life you are building. Explore what happens when loss makes old goals feel different, and whether you are losing drive or finally becoming honest about what you want.

Mary Makite

Oct 165 min read

A cinematic workplace scene shows a professional woman reflecting at her desk while shadowy figures, broken chains, clocks, scattered papers and distressed reflections represent grief, pressure, unresolved pain and workplace bitterness behind a warm city skyline.

What Happened to You? Bitter People and the Pain Behind Workplace Behavior

We are quick to call people bitter, difficult, or toxic. But what if we paused to ask what happened to them? A deeper look at workplace bitterness, unresolved pain, compassion, and accountability.

Mary Makite

Sep 228 min read

Diverse workplace contrasting employee isolation with genuine support and compassionate leadership.

Compassionate Leadership vs Performative Empathy: What Employees Remember

Your employees can tell when empathy is performative. A leader can say “take the time you need,” but what happens to the workload, deadlines, privacy, and expectations tells employees whether that support is real.

Mary Makite

Aug 268 min read

Diverse workplace team participating in a leadership discussion about building a grief-inclusive workplace culture.

Building a Grief-Inclusive Workplace: Why Culture Matters Most

Every workplace has a grief culture. The question is whether it's one that supports grieving employees or one that teaches them to suffer in silence. Discover how leadership, communication, and workplace culture shape the experience of grief and how organisations can build more compassionate, grief-inclusive workplaces.

Mary Makite

Jul 204 min read

Office workspace featuring four spoons on a desk to represent the spoon theory, symbolizing limited emotional and mental energy while colleagues continue working in the background.

The Spoon Theory: Understanding Grief at Work

The Spoon Theory offers a powerful way to understand the invisible emotional, cognitive, and physical energy grief consumes. Discover how it can help leaders, colleagues, and grieving employees better navigate grief at work.

Mary Makite

Jul 34 min read

Workplace scene illustrating the invisible thoughts of a grieving employee after returning to work.

Why Grief and Productivity Don't Follow the Same Timeline

Grief doesn't end when bereavement leave does. Discover why grief affects productivity, concentration, and work performance, and how compassionate workplaces can better support grieving employees.

Mary Makite

Jun 295 min read

Diverse team having a supportive workplace discussion in a modern office

Managing Grief in the Workplace Effectively: Grief Management Strategies

Grief is a part of life, and inevitably, it becomes part of work too. Explore practical grief management strategies that help employees, leaders, and organisations navigate loss with compassion, understanding, and resilience.

Mary Makite

Jun 194 min read