This dissertation addresses how organizations can best support their employees during workplace bereavement. In recent years, academic research related to coping with bereavement in the carers' workplace has included social workers and nurses working in palliative care settings. This dissertation addresses an identified gap in the literature as previous research has not concentrated on carers' experiences following the death of a client in a community setting. The aims of this study are to explore the experiences of carers working in the community, when a client they are caring for is dying or has died. Furthermore, this study illuminates the existing Human Resources (HR) supports that sustain carers within this role and what additional supports they believe would benefit them. The management decided that the name of the charity should not be disclosed. Thus, Company X is the name given to a Registered Charity operating in the Republic of Ireland on which this study is based. The research methodology used in this study was questionnaires which provide a more in-depth examination of the relative impact of bereavement in the workplace. The analysis involved a total of 120 questionnaires, which provided five specific findings related to Company X. The first finding and most significant finding is that an informal process is currently used by management to communicate when a client dies, whereby a line manager notifies the carer by telephone. This non-systematic process does not always work well and may result in some participants not being informed in a timely manner. Knowledge of a death may help the carer avoid unexpectedly receiving the news from an informal source. Employees should also be consulted in terms of the individual supports they would find beneficial as the grieving process is unique and individual. Employees should also be empowered and enabled to highlight issues which are causing them difficulties without the fear of retribution. One such major finding is that when a client dies it may take several weeks or months before they are re-deployed which means there is little job security. This in turn leads some to seeking alternative career opportunities. The second finding is that Company X should establish a well-being programme. This programme could be delivered to employees via awareness workshops, training and development opportunities. It would facilitate carers to become more resilient and also help them to create their personal self-care regime. The third finding is that although Company X has an Employee Assistance Programme and the majority of carers understand its role and function, the incidence of employees reaching out for its services is minimal (2%). The fourth finding is that participants indicated that they received no training to prepare them for the losses they inevitably encounter throughout their career. According to participants, there are no formal organizational process for carers to handle their grief. Given the lack of support, training and opportunities to manage grief in the workplace, it may not be surprising that carers believe they are expected to 'get on with it' when it comes to managing grief. The last key finding is in relation to occupational health and safety. There needs to be greater commitment from senior management to safeguard employees from psychosocial hazard such as work-related stress which may be caused by witnessing a client suffer in pain. Company X should develop a Critical Incidents Policy for suicide so that there is a protocol in place for staff to receive training on what to do if they are the first on the scene of a death by suicide. These findings provide Company X with valuable directions to create HR policies and procedures in which to promote workplace well-being, which includes support staff grief - (Abstract)

Thesis Cork Institute of Technology, 2017.

Bibliography: (pages 57-70)