Supporting a Grieving Workforce
Supporting a Grieving Workforce
By: Beth L. Hewett, PhD, CT, CCISM, CEOLS, Richard Ottenstein, PhD, CEAP, CTS
Grief hurts. Bereavement specialist Dr. Beth Hewett joins the Workplace Trauma Center's Dr. Richard Ottenstein to look honestly at supporting a grieving workforce suffering losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, other illnesses, violence, or accidents.
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Grief hurts. Bereavement specialist Dr. Beth Hewett joins the Workplace Trauma Center’s Dr. Richard Ottenstein to look honestly at supporting a grieving workforce suffering losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, other illnesses, violence, or accidents. Supporting A Grieving Workforce helps employers and employees understand workplace grief and mourning through practical activities, ceremony, and soulful work with the sad and sometimes traumatic nature of loss.
Grief in workplace settings is multifaceted. Not only do employees sometimes die, but workers’ family members also may die, affecting all levels of employees. The critical nature of bereavement stress means that employers face not only the physical and energetic loss of their employees but also must manage the changes to their workplace team thoughtfully.
Beth L. Hewett, PhD, CT, CCISM, CEOLS
Beth L. Hewett, PhD, CT, CCISM, CEOLS is a Certified Thanatologist, Compassionate Bereavement Care™ specialist, Certified Critical Incident Stress Management specialist, and Certified End-of-Life Doula. She is a public speaker and the author of Grief on the Road to Emmaus: A Monastic Approach to Journeying with the Bereaved, Good Words: Memorializing through a Eulogy and More Good Words: Practical Activities for Mourning, and coauthor of Supporting a Grieving Workforce.
Dr. Hewett supports the bereaved as a grief coach and spiritual companion. Her work includes pre- and post-death bereavement, healing ceremony and ritual, and mindful mourning activities. Her publications, to include articles and blogs, can be found at www.goodwordsforgrieving.com.
Richard Ottenstein, PhD, CEAP, CTS
Dr. Richard J. Ottenstein is Chief Executive Officer of the Workplace Trauma Center with over 50 years experience in the mental health field and 37 years experience providing workplace trauma training and intervention services. He is a licensed Psychologist, Certified Employee Assistance Professional, Certified Trauma Specialist, and member of the faculty of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) and author of their course titled “Corporate Crisis Response: Critical Incident Stress Management in the Workplace.” Dr. Ottenstein is a former member of the American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Team and serves with local fire department critical incident teams.