Grief is a normal response to death or loss, and it can affect care workers in different ways. This guide explains how grief may show up in long-term care and home support, why acknowledging grief and loss matters, and how workers, teams, and leaders can support themselves and others.
Grief is the emotional, psychological and physical reaction to death or loss. In caregiving work, the death of a resident or client can be deeply difficult. Grief can also follow a significant change or decline in a person's condition, or when services are discontinued.
Caregiving is relational. Workers may spend weeks, months or years getting to know the people they support. Some relationships become close and may feel like family. Because of that connection, a loss can have a significant impact. Some losses may affect a worker more than others depending on the closeness or length of the relationship.
Repeated exposure to loss can also affect worker wellbeing. Staff should not be expected to become immune to grief or to stop feeling the impact of loss over time.
There is no right or wrong way to grieve. A person's grief may be visible, quiet, or difficult for others to recognize. It may bring a range of feelings, including:
People may respond differently to the same loss. Making room for those differences can help reduce judgement and stigma and also create more space for a person to work through their experience of loss.
Grief is an expected and normal part of caregiving work, but it should not be overlooked. When grief is not recognized, acknowledged or supported, it can affect a worker's physical and psychological wellbeing and may contribute to feelings of burnout.
Without appropriate support, caregivers may be left to navigate grief alone. Acknowledgement from coworkers and workplace leaders can help create space for grief and make support easier to access.
Your feelings are valid. You do not have to grieve in the same way as someone else, and you should not be expected to become desensitized to loss.
Grief support begins with acknowledging that the feelings connected to loss are real. These strategies can help workers and teams respond with care:
Workplaces can help by recognizing loss, making support visible, and giving staff opportunities to acknowledge what has happened. Depending on the workplace and the needs of the team, this may include:
Support should recognize that people grieve differently. Staff should be able to access help without judgement or pressure to respond in a particular way.
Grief is the emotional, psychological, and physical reaction to death or loss. It is an expected human response, and each person may experience it differently.
Yes. Grief may follow a significant change or decline in a resident's or client's condition. It may also happen when services are discontinued, and the caregiving relationship ends.
Yes. Loss is an inevitable part of caregiving work, and grief is a normal response. Staff should not be expected to become immune or desensitized to it.
The impact of a loss may be shaped by how close the relationship was and how long you knew or supported the person. A strong reaction to one loss does not mean you responded incorrectly to another.
Grief can include anger, sadness, feelings of depression, loneliness, hopelessness, or numbness. It is not always visible, and there is no single right way to experience it.
Acknowledge that their feelings are valid, even if their response looks different from yours. Make space for them without judgement or stigma and remind them of available workplace supports when appropriate.
Workplaces can recognize the passing of a resident or client, offer formal or informal debriefings, support peer gatherings or memorial practices, provide education about death and grief, and make staff support resources easy to find.
Ask your supervisor or workplace contact about grief support and other available resources, including an employee assistance program, if your workplace offers one.
Check our our Wellness and Support Guide for more resources.
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