As I’ve been processing our collective loss, I’ve been surprised by how difficult this grief has been to navigate. This was a first for me, and perhaps I was naive to think that the professional nature of our relationship would shield me and my team from this kind of grief. With bittersweet clarity, I realized just how deeply we care for the clients we have the joy of serving. That care isn’t lip service. It’s something we feel deeply, and it shows up in how we work. We get to know our clients extremely well not just as a business but also as individual humans. And that connection is one of the biggest reasons we love what we do.

Kevin’s legacy lives on in the people he uplifted, the progress he made possible, and the care he showed so consistently. We’ll do our part to carry that forward.

Grief doesn’t stay at home when someone passes away. It follows us into meetings, inboxes, and everyday interactions. And when the person we’ve lost is a teammate, it doesn’t just touch individuals, it changes the entire rhythm of a team.

Suddenly, things feel different. The daily handoffs, the inside jokes, the shared shorthand… all of it shifts. Even the air in the room can feel heavier.

Losing a colleague isn’t just the absence of one person, it’s a disruption to the social system of the team. In organizational psychology, teams are seen as interdependent units, not just a sum of their roles. When one thread is pulled, the whole weave loosens. Trust, communication, and even motivation can wobble as people try to find their footing again.

That’s why it matters how we respond—not just to the loss, but to each other. A thoughtful, human-centered approach can help teams move through grief together instead of around it.

Even when a colleague’s passing isn’t sudden, the emotional and operational impact on a team can be profound. The absence reverberates through daily routines, interactions, and the collective psyche of the team. The sudden change can lead to decreased morale and productivity as team members navigate their emotions and the new team structure.

Common experiences include:

Shock and Disorientation: Concentration dips, and routines falter, especially if the teammate was central to daily workflows.

Secondary Losses: Grief brings companions like guilt, fear, survivor’s remorse, and anxiety about job security or role shifts.

Relationship Gaps: Teams are social systems. A lost teammate isn’t just a function—they’re a friend, mentor, personality.

Unspoken Questions: “Who takes over their work?” “Should we talk about them?” “How do we act normal again?”

Understanding and addressing these impacts is crucial for maintaining a supportive and resilient workplace.

When grief enters the room, people rarely need a policy… they need presence.

They need to know it’s okay to not be okay. They need permission to feel without judgment, to step back when the weight is too heavy, and to move forward when they’re ready. Psychological safety teaches us that people do their best work when they feel seen, supported, and safe to be vulnerable. Grief is one of the most vulnerable states we can be in, so creating that kind of safety matters more than ever.

Permission to Feel. Let people know it’s okay to grieve, to cry, to be quiet. When leaders model emotional honesty, it gives others permission to do the same. Normalize a range of emotional responses, and consider creating space (formally or informally) for people to share what they’re feeling, if they choose to.

Time and Space. Grief doesn’t follow a calendar, and it certainly doesn’t fit neatly into PTO policies. Offering flexible time off, lightened workloads, or even just naming that someone doesn’t have to be at their best can help people feel supported rather than pressured to “bounce back” too quickly.

Ongoing Support. Grief doesn’t end when the memorial is over; it unfolds over time, often resurfacing in unexpected ways. A check-in a few weeks or months later, a gentle acknowledgement around an anniversary, or simply making space for someone to step back when needed are the kinds of gestures that let people know they haven’t been forgotten.

Community. We heal better together. Storytelling, shared reflection, and informal moments of remembrance can help teams process grief collectively and honor the person they’ve lost. In some cases, it may feel appropriate to invite the person’s family to join. When done with care and consent, these gatherings can create a meaningful bridge between the personal and professional worlds their life touched.

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to grief. But every organization, regardless of size, can honor loss with care, dignity, and empathy. What matters most isn’t how big the gesture is, but whether it’s sincere, supportive, and responsive to what your people need.

For Small Teams

In close-knit environments, grief hits hard. Teammates may feel more like family than coworkers. In these settings, personal gestures can go a long way.

Host a team storytelling session or build a physical or digital memory wall. Kevin’s colleagues decorated his office with meaningful mementos.

Send handwritten notes to the family, either as a company or as individuals.

Consider closing the office for a day of collective remembrance.

Let the team decide: Do they want to plant a tree? Attend a memorial service together? Make a donation in the teammate’s honor?

For Medium to Large Teams

With more complex structures, coordination becomes key. A thoughtful, organized response helps ensure no one slips through the cracks.

Create a cross-functional grief response protocol with HR, DEI, and leadership.

Designate trained “grief liaisons” – much like a lay-counseling model, this involves training trusted peers to check in and facilitate remembrance.

Partner with your EAP if you have one to host grief-specific support groups.

Empower site leaders to organize remembrance circles or community check-ins.

For Large and/or Distributed Workforces

At scale, the risk is emotional distance. But even in global organizations, grief can be honored in ways that feel meaningful and personal, particularly when local teams are trusted to lead.

Give local leaders autonomy to decide how to acknowledge loss in contextually appropriate ways.

Create scalable memorial tools like an intranet “Remembrance Portal” or a company-wide Day of Reflection.

Bake grief into wellness programming and employee care and experience strategy.

Standardize and scale grief support practices, which could include announcement templates, a menu of memorial options, donation coordination, etc.

Handled with care, remembrance becomes a quiet signal: “We don’t just care about your output. We care about you.” That kind of culture builds trust and deepens loyalty, not through big gestures, but through small moments of humanity.

At the same time, it’s easy to misstep when grief makes people uncomfortable. Well-meaning attempts to help can come across as forced, rushed, or performative. Organizationally, this is where behavioral science reminds us: people thrive when they’re given choice, agency, and the freedom to feel.

Keep it optional. Not everyone wants to participate in memorials. That’s okay. Create space, but never pressure people into grief rituals they haven’t chosen.

Don’t rush. Teams need space to process, not just “get back to normal.” Let the air breathe before shifting too quickly into business-as-usual.

Remember the anniversaries. A quick check-in on a birthday, a service anniversary, or the day they passed can mean more than you think. Grief doesn’t run on a schedule, and neither should care.

Avoid performative gestures. Teams can sense when gestures are hollow.If a gesture is more about being seen doing something than supporting those grieving, it’s worth reconsidering. Here are a few signals that something might be veering into performative territory:

It’s rushed. If the tribute is happening just to “get it done,” rather than out of genuine desire to honor the person, take a beat.

It’s generic. If the message or gesture could apply to anyone, it probably doesn’t reflect the uniqueness of the person you lost.

It bypasses emotion. If the action avoids any real emotion (joy, sadness, gratitude, etc), it may be more about checking the box than connection.

Grief doesn’t have to derail team culture. In fact, when handled well, it can deepen it.

At BOxD, we help leaders build organizations where the human experience is honored, even in its hardest moments. If you’re ready to create a culture of genuine care, let’s talk about how to lead with empathy, especially when it matters most.