Grieving

I attended a memorial service today for a lovely gentleman who lived life fully right to the moment he had a heart attack and dropped where he stood. The shock, although hard for the family, was softened somewhat as they said how glad they were that his end was swift and painless.
At the memorial, one after another spoke of how he will be missed. Cronies, sons and daughters, grandchildren and friends, spoke about the contributions he made and how he was always there when needed. Clearly the loss of this elderly man was going to be felt by many people for a lpog time.
I thought later about the losses that takes place at work and while it doesn't have to be as dramatic or painful as a death, many employees will still struggle when a dear colleague is no longer there. The supervisor who moves to another company, the employee who retires and moves away to sunshine and golf, the manager who heads off to university to enhance career plans, all leave a void that's sometimes hard to accept. The farewell parties, laughter, hugs, jokes and gifts don't make the loss of the person any easier to bear when Monday comes around. The vacant chair, the clean and tidy desk, the outlines on the wall where family photos hung just last week, all remind us of the special contriutios that person brought to the workplace.

Who can we turn to now for that sage advice?
Who can fill the void on the project team?
Why does the vacant chair trouble us so much?

It's been my experience that organizations don't even acknowledge employee loss and the toll it can take on productivity. While it might not be the level of grief one would find at the funeral of a dear departed friend, there is a grieving process going on nonetheless.

There's no question the gap left behind when a valuable employee is no longer there is felt for a long, long time. The wise manager will bring people together to talk about their loss, how they feel and what they can do to support each other going forward. But I fear there are not many managers out there who consider this act. How sad to think when long time colleagues depart, those left behind are expected to start the next week as if we had never existed. Some sadness is normal and talking about the changes the employee's departure has brought about and the void left behind is healing and respectful. So please, honour the people who helped grow your business and the contributions they made however small, even though they don't appear at the office any more. Keep them 'with you' through your memories and conversations so others know they were valued and missed.