Supporting an Organization Facing Loss, Change, and Transition

Grief results from both death and non-death-related losses. So when an agency is going through a significant organizational change, workers predictably experience their own loss response to the transitions.  Clients and community members may also be impacted by the changes. Managing change requires acknowledging the goodbye to what was before embracing what’s to come. Without it, workers may display resistance and resentment which might not be recognized as grief reactions. We know that unaddressed grief can lead to increased employer costs: higher benefit premiums, costs of relief staff, costs of hiring and training as well as disruption to clients and communities.

The goal is to reduce distress in workers in order to make way for smoother and more successful transitions.

Educational sessions and team-based activities related to the predictable impacts of change can be helpful as workers mitigate the stress of the change. Managers and supervisors can also benefit from practical tools to support change at this level.

Good Grief Care Consultants has decades of on-the-ground experience helping senior leadership, managers, workers and volunteers meet and manage the loss. We have worked with a range of grassroots, not-for-profit organizations, community health centres, social service agencies focused on harm reduction and supportive housing, as well as individuals and communities who are:

• HIV/AIDS-affected

• Impacted by the opioid catastrophe/overdose crisis

• Dealing with deaths from gun violence

• Supporting survivors of sexual violence

• Caring for the vulnerably housed and street-involved

Our blend of theory and practice can be used as a resource for building effective policies and practical responses to the complexities of managing grief, loss and bereavement in the workplace. The theories and techniques used will depend on what your team is dealing with and what you are interested in accomplishing.  We do link theory and process so that teams learn together as they go through shared experiences. 

Good Grief Care Consultants help to build worker resilience and organizational capacity in the face of ongoing, multiple and traumatic loss. Connect with us today. We’ll help make loss manageable.