I woke up the other day experiencing waves of emotions unable to identify them but was aware enough to know I felt I should push through & work hard when all I wanted to do was rest & allow my heart to understand what it was feeling. As I watched my entire calendar get wiped clean, I had to accept that life was not the way it was supposed to be.

Having experienced my share of loss, I began to notice that the waves of emotions I was feeling were tied to the stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, sadness, & acceptance). I have learned to acknowledge these stages, process & accept them, & allow myself time to move through them. When I was younger, I would just keep plowing through, hoping I could avoid the pain that would come when I let myself slow down enough to feel it. It took me years to slow down & actually feel the depth of loss I experienced in losing a sibling when I was 3 & my dad when I was 17.

Every generation in the workforce is experiencing grief on some level. Not one remains untouched by this pandemic. My question to you as an employer:  In what ways are

you giving your team permission to move through this so that we can all come out on the other side feeling cared for, seen, valued, & understood?