Everything You Need to Know About Employee Empowerment

November 10, 2021 - 10 min read

Kelechi Udoagwu

In the past, businesses functioned around their owners. Decisions were subject to owners’ tastes and biases, and workers followed precise rules to get their tasks done.

In today's global economy, this way of working and leadership is out of style. Markets and environments change rapidly. Decentralization and employee empowerment are crucial for any company aiming for growth and success. But what exactly is employee empowerment?

What is employee empowerment?

Employee empowerment means delegating authority and giving workers autonomy to make decisions and influence matters within their roles. This involves assigning not only tasks and responsibilities but also resources and support to enable employees to drive results that benefit the organization.

Employee empowerment gets team members enthusiastic about their goals. They begin to own their tasks and take the initiative to achieve stretch goals instead of waiting for a manager to give directions.

Organizations practicing employee empowerment create a work environment that is less about autocratic or hierarchical leadership and more about teaching and empowering staff at all levels. Under an empowering leadership style, they will act in the company's best interests and perform their duties with operational excellence.

Why is empowerment in the workplace important?

Empowerment in the workplace creates an engaged and high-morale work environment. Empowered employees are self-directed, self-organizing, and keen to leverage their full potential in pursuing and achieving business goals.

A 2018 research summary in the Harvard Business Review revealed that companies that actively promote employee empowerment have more productive employees delivering highly creative work with considerable job satisfaction.

An empowering management style increases trust between workers and employees, strengthening psychological safety at work. This boosts employee confidence and capabilities so they're able to achieve more, which benefits the business.

As author Daniel Pink wrote in “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us,” "Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. When that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives."

The benefits of employee empowerment

A few significant benefits of employee empowerment are:

Motivated workforce

Empowered employees are more likely to be self-motivated and directed, needing less supervision to accomplish their tasks. They know what is expected of them, how it ties into the organization's big picture, and remain committed to delivering valuable results at every opportunity.

Confidence in leadership

When staff members feel their employers care about their development and well-being, they perform better and are more willing to represent the company, take measured risks, and innovate. Confidence in leadership significantly influences employee engagement, performance, and output.

Better service

How leaders relate with employees affects how the employees engage with customers. There's a positive ripple effect across the organization when employees feel empowered. Customer service and support, marketing and sales, even collaborators and vendors represent your business better when you empower them. Empowered employees are proactive and thoughtful about customer requests and issues, making your business a welcome place for prospects and customers.

Improved creativity

When a company embraces employee empowerment and autonomy in its culture, employees are allowed to be creative and insightful. They share knowledge and can connect the dots between ideas as they collaborate. An empowering management style encourages employees to speak up, stand up for others, and try new approaches to solve problems and produce results.

Talent retention

Employee empowerment is a huge determinant in retaining expert talent in your organization. It’s often said that "people don't leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers." If you recruit high-performers into your team, you should give them room to apply their expertise to help you succeed. High-performing teams and professionals work in organizations where they can learn, solve new challenges, and grow in their careers. Companies prioritizing employee empowerment are better positioned to attract and retain expert talent than those who do not.

Saving on hiring costs

Research shows that replacing a team member or employee costs an average of six to nine months' salary in recruitment and training costs. Companies with high employee churn spend more on hiring, training, and onboarding new employees. It's advisable to promote employee empowerment in the workplace to reduce turnover and save hiring costs.

Stronger bottom line

As seen in the benefits mentioned above, companies that support employee empowerment perform better than those that don't. They satisfy customers with excellent service, rake in higher profits, and grow stronger with a committed team of employees working as ambassadors.

Employee empowerment examples

There are many good employee empowerment examples from modern companies with unique cultures. In this section, we take a look at four:

Netflix

Netflix is one of the best employee empowerment examples. The global streaming company allows high levels of autonomy and independence with a high bar for excellence and responsibility for every employee, regardless of position or role. Netflix's No Rules Rules way of working thrives on trust and proactivity.

Managers trust team members to give their best. Teams and employees in turn trust the company to provide all they need to thrive, giving them a sense of project ownership and the drive to see that projects are successful.

Google

Google has a strong culture of innovation and experimentation, which encourages employees to pursue new ideas. The company implemented the 20 percent rule, giving employees 20% of the workweek to explore their creativity and experiment with new ideas. This employee empowerment strategy has led to the development of some of Google's most popular products, including Google News, AdSense, and Gmail.

Adobe

For this 39-year-old billion-dollar SaaS company, freedom is paramount. Adobe has adopted a 'no hovering' work policy that discourages hand-holding, micromanagement, and nitpicking.

The company believes in allowing room for employees to ideate, execute, and take responsibility for their work and impact within the organization. Adobe makes it clear that employees will not be micromanaged but have true freedom and responsibility to do their work. Employees work on challenging projects and have autonomy over how they create.

Buffer

Buffer has built a culture focused on transparency, utilizing open communication and feedback to improve company policies and work arrangements so that employees can do their best work.

Buffer's flexible work culture allows employees to choose where they work from, take time off when needed, and focus on work when they're present. This culture has contributed to making the company successful. Employees give their best on every project, knowing that they work for a company that cares about employee empowerment.

Everything You Need to Know About Employee Empowerment 2 — Photo by Shridhar Gupta via Unsplash

How can you empower unmotivated employees?

Is it possible to empower unmotivated employees? The first thing to do is identify issues that may be causing demotivation. Gather employee feedback and conduct an audit of your processes, noting employees' most common pain points.

Have conversations with teams and managers. You may choose to have an all-staff meeting or discuss with key team members one-on-one. It's important to give the employees a chance to speak. Listen to and note their responses so you can make more informed decisions and come up with the right solution.

Get back to your team with proposed fixes and implement the best ideas. Do you need to adjust KPIs on specific projects? Do you need to cut in-office work hours and embrace a hybrid work arrangement? Come up with solutions that tackle the real causes of demotivation your employees shared with you.

Develop a reward system for productivity and creativity. Recognize and give credit to those working diligently and delivering results. Celebrate small wins to show the progress you're making as a team. You may decide to choose one employee to be the manager of this transformation.

How to adapt to an empowering management style

Adapting your company's management style to an empowering one takes a bit of work, but the benefits are worth it. Here are some steps to implement:

Share your top-level vision: Be clear about the mission, goals, and strategy for the organization. Make sure the top-level vision is communicated transparently and consistently across departments. This creates an understanding of the company's big picture that every staff member can tie to their role.
Give employees autonomy: Give employees autonomy over their work by ensuring they have the resources to complete tasks they're assigned without being micromanaged.
Get out of the way: After delegating tasks, don't second-guess your team members' decisions. Only step in if they ask for your help. You don't want to undermine their confidence, add chaos to their work, or discourage them from owning the task.
Invest in employee growth and development: Provide opportunities for growth through mentorship, courses, and training programs. Inquire about employees' personal goals and career aspirations and find ways to align those with the company's vision and roadmap. Encourage team members to share knowledge with each other and ask questions.
Organize team bonding activities: Organize team bonding activities to foster better interpersonal relationships between staff, including managers and team members. As they get to know more about each other, teamwork and cross-functional collaboration become easier. Activities like company retreats, mentorship pairing, and virtual team-building games are excellent ways to foster an engaging workplace.
Update your employees on crucial information: Employees who understand what's happening in the company and why certain decisions are made are more equipped to make intelligent choices and solve problems. Empower your team with accurate information about changes in the company or their roles and involve them in being a part of the solution.

Are there any downsides to employee empowerment?

The benefits of employee empowerment far outweigh its disadvantages, but there are some to note. Here's a list of downsides to employee empowerment:

Lack of employee experience: An empowering management style works best when your employees are already good at what they do. They have operated the system or gone through the workflow enough times to know what to do if things go wrong. If your employees are new recruits or inexperienced in their positions, it's best to set them on a track to learn the fundamentals of their role before assigning them entire tasks on their own. It's not advisable to put too much autonomy in the hands of someone who has never done a particular job before.
Empowerment requires patience: Empowering employees is not a one-and-done task. It takes time, patience, strategy, and consideration from the leadership team. Employee empowerment efforts must be sincere to have a positive impact. If your efforts come off insincere or misleading, employees may lose confidence in the company. Practice patience in your employee empowerment efforts and set achievable timelines.
Decrease in efficiency: If your employees are not conscientious, there may be decreased efficiency as you allow more autonomy, especially in the early implementation stage. Give room for employees to find their footing as you switch to the empowering management style. Empowered employees bounce back quickly and ultimately contribute increasing value to the company.
A tendency to be abused: If proper accountability is not in place, some employees may take advantage of empowerment initiatives and slack off. A study from the Harvard Business Review shows that depending on how employees perceive their leaders, they may see new responsibilities and challenges as evidence that the leader can't lead or is trying to avoid making tough decisions.

Is employee empowerment the right strategy for you?

If you're interested in the benefits of employee empowerment, you can take small steps to empower your employees before committing.

Empowerment in the workplace is a commendable strategy that works at varying levels in different types of businesses. Consider the risk factors involved in your business with different levels of employee empowerment. Test these with individuals or small teams and adjust your employee empowerment strategy based on the results.

Some argue that employee empowerment may not be suitable for every company or culture. However, research has shown that if you want to create a stable work environment that attracts and retains top talent, employee empowerment in the workplace is a top requirement for today's job market.

How Wrike helps with employee empowerment

Empowerment in the workplace entails communicating openly and regularly with employees, sharing wins, metrics, and milestones, and recognizing team members who deliver exceptional work.

Using Wrike's team collaboration software, you can set up systems that enable employee empowerment across your organization. Give every employee visibility into their tasks and teams, communicate within projects easily, and view key metrics that show how they're faring.

Wrike's software provides a streamlined way of working across departments and with external collaborators without the need to micromanage. Managers can adjust employee workload, assign the right tasks to available team members, and allocate resources to cover ongoing projects.

Wrike provides transparency in all stages of a project, eliminating the need for back-and-forths and chaotic collaboration. To shift your culture towards employee empowerment, set the stage with our award-winning collaborative software for modern teams. Get started today with a two-week free trial of Wrike.

Kelechi Udoagwu

Kelechi is a freelance writer and founder of Week of Saturdays, a platform for digital freelancers and remote workers living in Africa.

#Company Culture #Employee Engagement #Employee Productivity

Leadership 10 min read

How to Create the Ultimate Wellness Program for Your Company

We spend a significant part of our lives at work, which means our jobs play a significant role in our overall health and wellness journeys. And it’s not surprising that sitting at our desks and staring at computer screens all day isn’t necessarily the best for our health. That’s why many organizations – even big players like Google and Microsoft – are implementing wellness programs to better support the health and wellness of their employees. Companies with wellness programs are going the extra mile to promote employee well-being in fun and engaging ways. And even better? They’re reaping the benefits that come from taking top-notch care of their employees. If your company doesn’t have a wellness program yet, don’t panic. It’s not too late to get started. In this guide, we explore the ins and outs of employee wellness programs, share different types of wellness activities, and outline our best tips to help you get started. Keep reading for the ultimate guide to creating an employee wellness program your workers and your overall organization will love. What is employee wellness? It’s no secret that employees are every organization’s greatest asset. But for employees to perform at their best, they need to take care of their overall health and well-being. That’s where employee wellness, which you’ll also hear referred to as workplace wellness, comes into play. You can think of employee wellness as the overall well-being of your employees. Are they working in safe conditions? Are they maintaining and prioritizing their physical health and fitness? Are they looking after their mental health and emotional state? But when we talk about employee wellness in a more specific sense, it refers to an organization’s method and policies that promote and support healthy behaviors and outcomes for its staff. Put simply, what are organizations doing to ensure that employees can experience and maintain a high level of wellness? To ensure that wellness is a core focus (and not just lip service), many organizations create and execute a formal employee wellness program. What is an employee wellness program? Generally speaking, an employee wellness program refers to a variety of initiatives that an employer sponsors or leads to promote healthy lifestyles amongst employees. This isn’t just about handing out step trackers or putting healthy snacks in the break room. Initiatives might include physical, mental, emotional, financial, or environmental aspects, to name a few. In some cases, an employee wellness program might even extend to an employee’s spouse or dependents, depending on the company’s size. Employee wellness programs aren’t one-size-fits-all and can be customized to the needs of your employees and organization. Many of the best employee wellness programs incorporate a variety of activities and efforts that span all sorts of different dimensions of health. Rather than focusing strictly on exercise, for example, a more holistic employee wellness program might include initiatives around movement, healthy eating, managing stress, and financial planning. You might be thinking, “An employee wellness program sounds like a lot of work! What do organizations get out of programs like these?” Let’s take a look at the benefits of an employee wellness program and why your organization should consider implementing one. What are the benefits of a workplace wellness program? Here’s an even more impactful question to ask: What pitfalls do organizations experience when employees have poor health? According to Kaiser Permanente, poor health increases the risk of chronic conditions. And chronic conditions can increase your health insurance premiums and the cost of workers’ compensation, make it difficult to maintain productivity, and lead to more sick days. Not to mention that you could see increased employee turnover if employees need to leave their jobs and focus on their health. That’s a lot of extra money your organization has to spend. When you have a workplace wellness program in place, you’re working against the long-term impacts of poor health (and saving money simultaneously). In a report published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, studies revealed that well-designed workplace wellness programs have an ROI ranging from $1.50 to $3 per dollar spent, in addition to other benefits like increased job performance, improved overall well-being, and happier employees. Employees acknowledge and appreciate the benefits of workplace wellness programs too. In a survey conducted by United Healthcare, more than half of people with access to wellness programs claimed that those programs improved their health. Additionally, three out of four employees who did not have access to wellness programs wanted access to them, which means these initiatives may help boost retention. What types of corporate wellness programs are there? Remember that the most effective wellness programs cover multiple dimensions of health, which means there are many types of programs to choose from. Let’s dig in and take a look at corporate wellness programs through the lens of different health dimensions. Physical Physical corporate wellness programs include initiatives and activities related to movement, exercise, and physical well-being. Any activity that requires some level of movement or deals with the physical body (e.g., biometric screenings) is part of a physical wellness program. Emotional and mental Emotional and mental wellness refers to managing emotions and promoting positive mental health. These programs might emphasize healthy relationships in the workplace, stress management techniques, and overall emotional well-being at work and home. Financial Financial wellness programs are tailored toward activities that promote financial stability and smart money moves. Programs in this area are likely to be more educational, helping employees learn and understand financial literacy and behaviors around money. Social Social corporate wellness programs can help your employees improve their social interactions at work and home. For example, team-building activities are a great way to improve social wellness. Environmental Organizations have a unique opportunity to create environmental wellness programs to help promote sustainable living. In some cases, these programs might start with the immediate environment through sustainable changes in the office space before expanding more broadly. Volunteering Volunteer activities help support other elements of a holistic wellness program, including emotional, mental, and physical wellness. Sponsoring volunteer opportunities as part of your corporate wellness program is a great way to hit several wellness dimensions simultaneously. Your employee wellness program can include as many or as few of these types of focus areas as you’d like. It’s also worth connecting with your employees to find out which ones carry the most weight with them. Employee wellness activities: inspiration to get you started Incorporating employee wellness activities into your wellness program doesn’t have to be daunting, complicated, or expensive. Many activities require little effort and coordination, yet they remain effective and practical for meeting wellness goals. Here are a few employee wellness activity ideas to help you get started: Create a walking challenge. Walking challenges are a simple and accessible way for organizations to encourage more physical activity. The benefits of walking are endless, and this type of activity is perfect for in-office and remote employees. Offer free fitness classes or gym memberships to your employees. On-site fitness classes and covered costs for gym memberships can help your employees incorporate more physical activity into their routines. Additionally, on-site fitness classes give employees a chance to mingle outside of work conversations. Host a heart-healthy lunch for your staff. Hone in on healthy eating by providing a healthy lunch for your employees. Add educational components to teach them about nutritional habits and changes they can make to their diets. Conduct meditation sessions for stress relief. Stress management is an essential part of wellness in the workplace. Encourage and help employees manage their stress by offering coordinated meditation sessions and breaks. Bring in financial experts to discuss planning for retirement. Educate your employees on how to prepare financially for a stress-free retirement. Promote smoke-free lifestyles and smoking cessation programs. Through expert seminars, incentives, and more, you can help employees leave their smoking habits behind and implement more positive habits and routines. When it comes to employee wellness activities, the possibilities are endless. And thanks to the internet, remote workers can participate in employee wellness activities, too. Employee wellness activities for remote workers While many wellness activities can easily be adapted and modified for the remote workforce, here are some specific wellness activities to consider for your distributed workers: Offer subscriptions to on-demand fitness platforms. Remote workers might not be able to attend on-site fitness classes. So instead, consider offering on-demand fitness accessibility so they can exercise at their leisure. Send healthy snacks to your employees to enjoy at home. In place of a healthy in-person lunch, try using a subscription service or curating your own healthy snack box to send to employees. Empower your employees to adopt meditation habits with an app. Apps like Headspace and Calm can help teach your employees wellness skills while being part of a dispersed workforce. Consider offering subscriptions to employees for self-learning. Tips for implementing a workplace wellness program Are you ready to start implementing a workplace wellness program? These tips will help ensure your corporate wellness program is set up for success. 1. Conduct assessments to understand what your employees want Rather than put together an entire program based on what you think your employees want, conduct assessments to figure out how you can best support their wellness needs. Employee surveys and health assessments can help you evaluate and understand your organization's wellness interests and needs so you can tailor your program accordingly. You can also conduct an environmental assessment of your workplace if it feels applicable. 2. Establish a strong wellness committee to support your program Wellness programs shouldn’t fall solely on one person to manage and coordinate. While it may be the responsibility of an individual within your organization to lead an employee wellness program, you should establish a committee to support them. This committee should help to plan and implement all wellness programs, monitor and evaluate wellness activities, empower team members to participate in wellness efforts, and coordinate any post-program incentives. Aim for cross-departmental participation for this committee so you get a well-rounded view of how your program is doing. 3. Determine how to make the most of your budget An effective wellness program should be planned and well-managed, which means you should have a dedicated budget to consider how you’re going to spend that money ahead of time. While some wellness activities have little to no cost, others may require more of your budget. Budgets may need to be used to cover vendor fees, program incentives, wellness subscriptions, snacks, or other essential program items. 4. Divide and conquer different components of your wellness program Consider mapping out your program activities for the entire year. Determine which activities you want to include as part of your program and divide up the planning and scheduling efforts for those unique activities. Then, come back together and create your wellness calendar for the year ahead to share with employees, so they know what will be available to them. 5. Don’t forget to add rewards and incentives Helping your employees change their unhealthy behaviors can be tough, but rewards and incentives can help them see success. In addition to incentivizing employees to participate in a wellness activity or stay involved in your wellness program from start to finish, rewards can boost participation rates. Be mindful of the types of rewards you select for given activities. If an employee completes a healthy-eating challenge, a gift basket full of sweets may not be the best prize to help them stay committed to their changed behavior. 6. Test different activities and adjust your program along the way After implementing your wellness program, continue surveying your employees to understand which wellness activities they like and dislike. Your program should be flexible to reflect the wants and needs of your organization over time. Don’t be afraid to test different ideas and activities to find what sticks. How to organize wellness program for your company using Wrike From understanding the different types of wellness programs to coordinating and scheduling wellness activities, there’s a lot of information you need to organize to best support the health and well-being of your employees. A project management tool like Wrike can help you stay organized and execute your program vision. With Wrike, you can: Lean into cross-team collaboration with your wellness committee Use team calendars to coordinate wellness activities Access our Communication Plan Template for rolling out your wellness program to your company Integrate with other tools you may need to make your wellness program a success Making steps toward improved employee wellness starts today. Sign up for your free trial of Wrike and get working on your wellness program right away.

Leadership 10 min read

How to Manage and Support Colleagues Through Bereavement at Work

It’s the situation that nobody ever wants to be in, but take a minute and imagine yourself there: You’ve just lost a loved one. You’re suddenly burdened with shock and grief. You’re overwhelmed by the logistics of honoring final wishes, filling out paperwork, and planning arrangements. In between it all, you manage to find a minute to let your employer know that you’ll be out of office for a bit. Like anyone would, you hope that the message is met with nothing but unwavering support and encouragement. Don’t worry about anything work-related – we have it all covered. After all, the last thing you want is for your phone to keep buzzing, your inbox to fill up with requests and meeting invites, and to feel anxious about the security of your position and your income. Here’s the truth: As a manager or an employer, you’re likely to encounter a grieving employee at some point. It’s a sad reality, but it is crucial to be prepared to support them through the loss of a loved one and guide them through bereavement at work (without adding any stress to their already-full plates). What is bereavement leave? Bereavement leave is a specific type of leave that employees can take following the death of a loved one. Employees might use bereavement leave for various reasons, including making funeral arrangements, attending a funeral, taking care of family members, and working through the grieving process. Many large companies and organizations document official bereavement leave policies outlining the support available to a bereaved employee. A bereavement leave policy outlines and establishes guidelines for providing paid time off to employees for absences related to the death of a loved one. Policies and procedures vary across organizations, but many employers generally offer this benefit to their employees to some degree. Some smaller companies may choose to work with employees on a case-by-case basis and address these situations as they arise in place of a more formal policy. No matter your organization’s size or what your bereavement leave looks like, grief can be challenging to navigate. Conversations around death and loss can be tough to have with your employees, but supporting your employees through these situations is non-negotiable. In this guide, we’ve rounded up some helpful ways to discuss bereavement leave, how to support a grieving employee, and why communication should always remain front and center when times get tough. What should you do when an employee tells you about a death? An employee’s manager and the HR team are key resources when an employee experiences the loss of a loved one. After an employee loses someone close to them, they are likely to reach out to their manager, the HR team, or both to make them aware of what they’re dealing with. Whether you’re the employee’s manager or a member of HR, the first thing you should do when an employee notifies you of the death of a loved one is offer your genuine support and sympathy. Don’t jump straight into the details of how that employee’s workload will get covered or time off logistics. Instead, focus on letting the employee know that you’re thinking about them and that work should be the last thing on their minds right now (much like what happened in this viral LinkedIn post). Once you’ve responded with sympathy, you should then share what bereavement leave options are available. Managers should loop in the appropriate HR team members to explain and discuss the bereavement leave policy and other need-to-know information for taking that important time off. How do you support a colleague dealing with grief at work? Supporting a grieving employee can be difficult. Many of us do our best to leave personal matters at the door at work, but grief is different and usually strikes beyond our control. Acknowledge that grief is a powerful emotion and equip yourself with the skills and actions necessary to support a grieving colleague as best you can. Here are a few ways you can show your support. Understand your company bereavement leave entitlement You need to understand your company’s bereavement leave entitlement to communicate it to your colleagues. Many companies offer bereavement leave as a benefit to employees, but the conditions and guidelines around the leave may vary. As with other company policies, your bereavement leave entitlement should be stated clearly in your employee handbook for you and your employees to reference. Your company bereavement leave entitlement should cover the following: Who qualifies for bereavement leave? Is this benefit offered to all employees? What qualifies for bereavement leave? What types of family members are covered under the policy? For example, do you only provide bereavement leave for the loss of an immediate family member? How many days off are granted under the bereavement leave policy? Is the bereavement time off paid or unpaid? How do employees request bereavement leave? Is there any documentation needed for recordkeeping? Know what to say to a coworker when someone dies If you’ve ever struggled to come up with the right words to say to someone who is grieving, you aren’t alone. Knowing what to say to a coworker when someone they love passes can be challenging for you and your grieving colleague. Keep it simple and show your support. If you’re unsure how to get the wording just right, try one of these simple but sympathetic phrases: “I’m sorry for your loss.” “I’m thinking of you.” “How can I support you through this?” Prioritize sympathy (and avoid relating to emotions) The death of a loved one is one of the top five most stressful life events, and your employee will need your support throughout the grieving process. It’s essential to show up with a level of sympathy for your coworker and be empathetic, especially when they talk to you about how they are feeling after the loss. Express your condolences when the time is right, and try to avoid offering advice unless asked for it. When expressing your condolences, don’t compare your colleague’s loss to one of your own. While statements like “I know how you feel” might seem supportive, a grieving person may not find it helpful or supportive. Instead, when in doubt, be a solid active listener and offer support through empathy. Openly discuss time off work for a death One of the best ways to show your support for a bereaved colleague is to communicate openly with them about taking time off for the death of a loved one. Through these conversations, you can identify how much time an employee might need off and if your company’s bereavement leave entitlement will cover that. Some employees may choose to disclose the soon-to-be passing of a loved one before it happens if it’s expected. In any case, having open, continued conversations around taking time off – whether under a bereavement leave policy or through unpaid leave – can help your employees feel supported and take a weight off their shoulders as they handle personal matters in the aftermath of the loss. Provide ongoing bereavement support Grief and bereavement are heavy, and for an employee working through a recent loss, grief is an ongoing process. No two people grieve the same way or at the same rate, so it’s essential to provide ongoing bereavement support to your employees to help them navigate the days ahead. Some larger organizations offer an employee assistance program (EAP) as part of their benefits plan. EAPs generally offer confidential services and assessments, short-term counseling, and other mental health services to employees. These types of programs are provided by employers at no cost to employees and can be a great resource for delivering ongoing bereavement support. Know if your organization offers an EAP as part of its benefits so you can speak to this as a potential option of continuing grief support. If your company doesn’t offer an EAP, you can talk to your employee about what they need from you as part of the bereavement process. Offer resources where possible to help take the burden of research off them. Work together to have a flexible working environment Sometimes, an employee may need more time off than what’s covered by your bereavement leave policy. You can talk through various other time off options, including unpaid leave and the use of PTO in some cases. However, what happens once an employee is ready to return to work and may need some accommodations to ease the transition? You can work with your employees and put their stress at ease by offering a flexible working environment. Consider allowing your employee to work part-time, adjust their hours, or work remotely for an extended period if they usually work in the office. In many cases, most office jobs don’t require work to be done within a specific time frame except for scheduled meetings, which means you might have some wiggle room to offer to your employee. You can provide flexibility in various ways, so it’s important to talk to your employee about their specific needs. With a flexible schedule, your employee can continue to manage personal responsibilities while transitioning back to work without added stress. Why is it beneficial to work with a colleague through their bereavement? No matter how long an employee has been with your company, you’ve likely invested a significant amount of time and money recruiting, hiring, training, and onboarding them. A grieving colleague may even be one of the best performers within your organization. There’s a large cost involved when it comes to losing your best talent, or any talent within your company for that matter. Not to mention that it wouldn’t make you or your company feel good to lose an employee during their loss and time of grief. It’s beneficial to work with a colleague through their bereavement so you can take turnover costs out of the picture and not cause any more stress for the bereaved. Beyond having to pay to replace a grieving employee, creating a supportive environment will increase feelings of trust and can reinforce and improve your company culture. You can build trust with your bereaved employee by hearing their concerns, working with their schedule, and being there for them as they navigate life after loss. At the same time, when other employees see how you take care of those walking through personal loss, you’re revealing a deep layer of your company culture and boosting morale. When you display a level of compassion for a grieving colleague, you send the message that you care about the well-being and mental health of your employees. How to organize bereavement leave policies with Wrike Wrike is a project management and communications tool that you can use to organize your bereavement leave policies. Using Wrike to help manage bereavement leave, you can: Keep communication at the forefront by centralizing all conversations, files, approvals, and more Use templates, like the Actionable Meeting Notes Template, to help your employees smoothly transition back to work when they’re ready Quickly and easily redistribute tasks to help coordinate coverage while an employee is out on bereavement leave Are you ready to simplify your bereavement leave practices and support your employees in the best way possible? Get started with a free trial of Wrike today.

Leadership 10 min read

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Everything You Need to Know About Employee Empowerment

What is employee empowerment?

Why is empowerment in the workplace important?