This is a phase that occurs after several months of mourning. A so-called time of “depressive experience”, where the affected person plunges into intense suffering. Getting to do your shopping, eating can be hardships, getting to work too.
“I’ve been knocked out”, explains Stéphanie, manager in a financial sector group. Eight months after her husband’s death from cancer, she experienced this period very hard. After several months off, her full-time return took place in September 2021. Since then, she has alternated days working remotely and face-to-face. She says today that she manages to assume her workload, despite a mourning for twenty-two months, which continues to absorb a lot of her energy.
A mourning that for her resembles a long ” crossing “ carried out in his private life as well as at work. We go to the office for the first few months “with a mask”we say that ” It’s okay “. And then we crack, sometimes. Breaks for walks, crying in the toilet. Stéphanie explains that, for a long time, concentration failed her. Another difficulty: the relationship with the professional environment. If colleagues supported her, she was marked by the indifference of her superiors and human resources. “When I announced that I was stopping because my husband was going to leave us, my manager tried to negotiate a part-time job with me. »
“Like less than nothing”
Real wounds which were added to the deep pain linked to his mourning, and which are no exception. “Employees are treated as less than nothing, can no longer cope and leave their company, voluntarily or not. Others receive enormous pressure from their manager… It’s a double penalty”says a manager participating in a support group for bereaved employees. “Negative spirals made of misunderstandings can set inadds Marie Tournigand, general delegate of the Empreintes association, which accompanies bereaved people. Employees feel lonely, management is helpless, not knowing what attitude to adopt. »
A framework that often lacks benchmarks and faces a recurring question: should mourning remain a private matter, outside the scope of the company? The answer is negative, for Mme Tournigand: “It is not just about death and funerals, but about life after the death of a loved one. This of course includes the time spent at work, which will be affected. There are risks for maintaining employment, while we know that certain practices can promote recovery. » Empreintes also reminds that companies can approach the issue from an economic angle. Work stoppages related to bereavement last an average of thirty-four days a year. A better consideration would reduce absenteeism, thus promoting the performance of organizations.
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