Institute of Professional Grief Coaching (IOPGC)
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bring the power of grief sensitivity to your business and show that your organization fosters a culture of care, compassion, and concern
bring the power of grief sensitivity to your business and show that your organization fosters a culture of care, compassion, and concern
"Breaking the Silence of Grief in the Workplace"
The unpredictable occasion of death will affect every workplace at some point, and no organization, regardless of size, is exempt from its impact. Employees spend the majority of their awake time with coworkers developing personal and professional relationships, and when a death occurs the sympathetic care and concern take on a personal nature with an emotional and financial impact to the business. Adding grief education and coaching support to your professional development training plan is the one investment that delivers and fosters a grief sensitive and compassionate workplace culture.
Whether managing a traditional, hybrid, or remote work setting, one thing is constant… the effects of grief will directly or indirectly cross the threshold and penetrate employee morale and productivity. Do you know how to respectfully honor an employee’s grief and communicate support in a compassionate and grief friendly manner? Do employees and teams feel supported when grieving a loss? Do you know what is best and worst to say to a grieving employee? Are you aware of the unspoken impact of grief in the workplace? Do you know the grief-related costs to your company’s bottom line?
We applaud the much needed progress in advancing bereavement leave for grieving employees, but Dora Carpenter asks, "Are you comfortable in handling the 'human response' before and after that colleague returns to the office? Are you aware of the effects of one employee’s grief on the team?" Whether a CEO or a blue collar worker, when grieving the loss of a loved one, you are simply a human being with a broken heart, and that broken heart can overtake the heart of your entire organization. Whether three days or three weeks away from work due to a loss, the grief is ever present and can’t be turned off like a light switch when an employee returns and is expected to perform as a fully functioning worker.
We are pleased to now offer our Self-Directed Online From Grief to Gratitude Coach Certification Program. No need to travel or miss time away from the office. Certification program is accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
“It’s insane when you really think about it that we give months off for maternity and paternity leave but not for the death of a family member.”
Jack Canfield, Co-Author of the Bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul Series
Why the need for grief education and peer coaching support in the workplace? Why foster an environment where individuals feel safe, comfortable, and supported when dealing with a loss?
“A 2021 survey by EY consulting found that 90% of U.S. workers say that empathetic leadership improves job satisfaction, while 79% say it decreases turnover.” Employee Benefit News. July 28, 2022.
Dora Carpenter, Founder of the Institute of Professional Grief Coaching (IOPGC) and Facilitator of the Online Grief Coach Certification Program, asks, "In addition to Employee Assistance Program (EAP) referrals, does your organization compassionately support grieving employees from a human response perspective? Do you know what to say and what not to say to an employee experiencing a loss? Are you aware of the grief-related losses to your company’s bottom line? Are you allowing the occasion of grief to negatively affect employee morale and retention? Does your organization have a compassionate director, grief coach, or compassion partner on staff?"
Grief is an equal opportunity event . Grief education and support should not be an option.
Grief is an equal opportunity event . Grief education and support should not be an option.
Executives - Managers and Supervisors - Human Resources Professionals - Professional Practitioners - Federal and Local Governments - Community Organizations - Small Business Owners - Death Care Professionals - Unions - Trade Associations - Healthcare Organizations - Educational Institutions - Churches - Hospice Organizations - First Responders Organizations - Nonprofit Organizations - Long-Term Care and Rehabilitation Facilities - Legal and Eldercare Practices - Insurance Agencies - Entrepreneurs - Coaches - Health and Wellness Programs - Correctional Institutions - Law Enforcement Organizations - Military and Civilian Personnel . . . and more
By sponsoring a From Grief to Gratitude Certified Coach, your staff will have the awareness, knowledge, and skills to navigate through the adverse impact grief has on individual employees, coworkers, managers, teams, and the entire organization to ensure a grief sensitive, grief informed, and compassionate workplace culture. The From Grief to Gratitude Coach Certification Program is accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and addresses the core competencies of professional coaching.
- Increase employee production and morale
- Reduce grief-related cost to company’s bottom line
- Create an asset for employee attraction and retention
- Support the personal and mental wellbeing of staff
- Improve management and team engagement and communication
- Expand current wellness, work-life balance, and employee assistance programs
- Provide peer grief support coaching for teams
- Implement compassionate partner “grief buddy” programs
Disclaimer: Our programs are not based on a conceptual, intellectual, or theological perspective. The program, its instructor(s), and coaches provide education and support; do not imply, infer, or attempt to fix, heal, or cure grief; and do not imply or provide professional counseling or therapy. If you are experiencing serious suicidal thoughts that you cannot control, please call or text 988 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or go to http://988lifeline.org.
“Even in the wake of Covid-19, I find the conversation around grief and loss in the workplace lacking. Few companies have truly publicly acknowledged the devastating loss of this past year and its impact on employees.” ‘ ~~ How The Pandemic Has Exposed The Gap in Bereavement Support. Katie Lynch Forbes Councils Member, May 24, 2021
“For the past century, Americans’ response to grief has been to minimize its impact and suppress the emotional pain. We treat grieving as an individual affair, with mourners responsible for “getting over” their losses, mostly in private… Everyone eventually loses someone dear, some of us sooner rather than later. Mourners’ unexpressed distress can manifest in them physically and in their interactions with others – in how they work, raise children and create policy. Validating and supporting the bereaved at the time of loss is not just the compassionate thing to do – it’s a necessary investment in the collective good.” ~~ Pandemic grief could become its own health crisis. Lochlan Donald, The Washington Post. February 26, 2021
“Grief after the death of a loved one inevitable follows people to work, where employers and co-workers often are unprepared to handle the immediate sorrow or the surges of pain that ambush mourners at milestones like birthdays and holidays. Some of the shortcomings can be linked to insufficient bereavement leave policies, but often what fails is the human response to a suffering colleague.” ~~ As baby boomers age, ‘we are in for a death boom.’ Grief expert urges support for mourning workers. Alexia-Elejalde-Ruiz, Chicago Tribute, January 3, 2019
"For every COVID-19 death, about nine Americans will lose a grandparent, parent, sibling, spouse, or child." ~~ Tracking the reach of COVID-19 kin loss with a bereavement multiplier applied to the United States, Ashton M. Verdery, July 28, 2020.
“… we are doing all of this mourning at the office—whether in the Zoom calls and Slack chats conducted from the kitchen tables and bedroom desks of those who can work from home, or in the grocery stores and hospitals and schools where essential workers are expected to be physically present every day. Yet most employers aren’t prepared to manage any of this grief, many experts warn—or the corresponding stress, anxiety, burnout, and widespread lack of productivity that is already sweeping across corporate America, and that will overshadow the workforce for years to come.” ~~ The biggest risk in business right now is grief, Maria Aspan, Fortune.com, September 27, 2020
“The COVID-19 pandemic is easing up, but the grief crisis doesn’t end as we adjust to the ‘new normal.’ Grief resulting from the pandemic is devastating and complex on many levels,” said Dora Carpenter, Founder of the Institute of Professional Grief Coaching. “The spectrum of loss is huge and the long-lasting ripple effects can’t be avoided or left at the threshold when entering the office door. Grief resulting from any loss, if not addressed, not only affects the physical, emotional, social and functional well-being of employees, but also co-workers, teams and the overall organization.” ~~ Press Release, Institute of Professional Grief Coaching, June 24, 2021
Grief Support Resources
Grief Support Resources
These quick-read booklets are sample chapters from Dora Carpenter's published works and are available for bulk purchase as resource handouts for employees, clients, members, patients, etc. We can also customize to promote your brand while enhancing your commitment to care, compassion, and concern.
