When grieving, not everyone receives sufficient understanding from their employer. This is revealed by a study conducted by the labor union CNV among 1900 members who have lost someone in the past ten years.

According to the research published today, four out of ten bosses do not give their employees enough time to grieve after a loss. Additionally, more than a quarter state that they do not receive understanding for their situation. Earlier this month, figures from the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) showed that last year, 6 percent of all employees did not work or did not work fully for some time in the two years following the loss of a loved one.

“These are shocking figures,” says Piet Fortuin, chairman of CNV. The call for bereavement leave has been heard for some time. “There is little to nothing regulated in this country,” says Fortuin. “There are some collective labor agreements (cao’s) that have arranged something, for example, for a funeral, but there are no fixed guidelines for how to deal with grief in the workplace.”

Further from home

According to Fortuin, it is very likely that these employees will ultimately end up further from home due to experiencing burnout. “In the end, this costs them more money due to high sick leave. Employers who do not allow room for loss often end up paying the price in the long run.” According to the union, 37 percent of grieving employees return to work too quickly and 10 percent experience burnout.

Article by: Lisanne van Sadelhoff