It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Helen Wathall MBE, the fifth generation of her family to run Wathall’s, which is Derby’s longest-established independent funeral directors. Helen also set up the award-winning Dandelions Bereavement Support Service.
There is growing awareness in the business community of the importance of workplace mental health, but many have still not fully embraced the devastating impact on someone’s wellbeing and performance at work after suffering a bereavement.
Introducing initiatives such as Mental Health First Aiders in the workplace remains incredibly important but, as pressures on everyone grows during this ongoing cost of living crisis, I think we all need to think about the broader support that can be offered.
Death is a particularly uncomfortable and often taboo subject to discuss at home, let alone the workplace, but it is important for employers to better understand and support colleagues who have lost a loved one.
People express and cope with grief in different ways, but there are a lot of common factors and emotions that people share throughout their grief journey.
During the pandemic, we launched a special online training programme for business managers which explains the grief process and provides practical advice and support – enabling employers to give their staff the validation and space they need to come to terms with their loss, and better cope with their work and home life.
This is obviously about duty of care in the workplace, but there is also a business benefit as employees are far more likely to return to full productivity far quicker if they receive the right understanding and support.
