You Better Bereave It: Creating Compassionate Workplaces

In this episode, Dr. Rob Kirkland speaks with Katie Hansen, author of Working Through Grief, about the often-overlooked impact of grief in the workplace. Drawing from her own experiences and recent research, Katie explores how organizations fall short in supporting grieving employees—particularly through limited bereavement policies, lack of flexibility, and poor communication around available resources. She highlights the critical importance of emotional, informational, and practical support, emphasizing that how a company responds to grief directly influences employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention. Katie also introduces her new initiative, You Better Bereave It, aimed at reshaping how workplaces approach grief with empathy and preparedness.