Every workplace will, at some point, be affected by grief. An employee loses a parent, grandparent, pet or friend. They take compassionate leave and, before long, they’re back at work.

But while workplace policies can determine when someone’s leave is over, they can’t determine how long their grief lasts, or how it affects their work.

Given how prevalent grief is in our lives, the support we receive in the workplace after a loss can make a real difference to how we process it. We spoke to Dr Kelly Gough, president of the Australian Psychological Society, about the different ways grief can affect employees, and what managers can do to help them feel seen and supported.

35.7 weeks. That’s the average length of time an employee will miss while recovering from a work-related psychological injury – nearly five times longer than for any other type of workplace injury.

To help address this challenge, a new toolkit has just been released with tools designed to help employers better support staff recovering from psychological injury. Take a look.

Your organisation might already have a great mental health policy in place, but it’s probably a “one-size-fits-all” document. Have you ever considered implementing an action plan tailored to each employee’s individual wellbeing needs?

UK mental health charity Mind has created a tool to achieve just that.

Workplaces are one of the few environments that we can intentionally design for connection. When NFP leaders recognise loneliness as both a human and organisational issue, they unlock the opportunity to build cultures where people don’t just work together – they also feel seen, supported and part of something larger than themselves. Here’s how to do that in your team or organisation.