How to Help a Grieving Co-Worker

Losing a loved one is a traumatic experience for everyone. When it happens to a friend, we want to show our support. Yet, when it happens to a co-worker, it is slightly awkward. Being neither friend nor family, co-workers fall into a limbo of obligations and pleasantries. Yet, during this difficult time, they are a human being suffering. Here are steps that can help them.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Sympathy
• Communication
• Wake details

1. Find out details. Usually an office will post the obituary or some information about the wake, funeral and even details of the death. Find information out this way rather than having to ask the grieving person. They've already been asked about a hundred times.

2. Give sympathies at office if possible. If the grieving co-worker is still in the office, give your sympathies there. Don't worry about what to say. Tell them you're sorry about their loss and you can leave it at that. Treating them with silence and avoiding them creates tension. Even saying you don't know what to say besides "I am sorry" can still mean a lot.

3. Sign an office card or start it. Usually offices place a card to be signed extending the office's sympathy as a whole. If the card has been posted, sign it. If no one has taken the initiative, go ahead and be the one. Make it simple, not-too religiously specific and to the point.

4. Attend the wake. If you can, attend the wake of the co-worker's lost one. Show up, give your sympathies face-to-face, meet and greet some of the family if the situation suggests it and, then, exit.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sincere
• Don't overstay your time at the Wake