Unique conditions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown mean that there will be new challenges for workers grieving the death of a colleague. These may be related to social distancing measures, such as the inability to attend their wake, funeral or memorial service, limited physical contact with others, and issues arising from living in isolation with others who cause tension and resentment, more ‘thinking’ time because of limited access to outside activities and being surrounded by reminders about illness and death.

“Sadly, many people have been bereaved during the Covid-19 pandemic, with some grieving the death of a colleague,” said Professor Nichola Rooney, chair of BPS’s Covid-19 bereavement task force. “We spend a lot of time at work and often form close bonds with people we work with, so losing a colleague at a time when we may not have our usual support networks can be particularly difficult.”

Additional challenges because of grieving during the pandemic may include:

• Experiencing intense feelings of worry
• High levels of uncertainty and instability, making future planning more difficult 
• It is common to see, hear or feel the deceased’s presence following a traumatic bereavement.

“Different members of the team will have different levels of relationships with the person deceased and will respond to loss in very individual ways. Our other colleagues can be supportive in our grief, or at times their reasons and own grieving response can be challenging to us,” Rooney noted.

The bereavement task force has launched a new booklet, Supporting Each other following the death of a colleague, to help people understand their feelings and reaction if they do lose a colleague during this time. 

To obtain a copy of the free booklet, visit the BPS website.

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