Giving Grief Grace, a Grief Podcast for the Sandwich Generation
Loss changes everything. But it doesn't have to have the last word. Giving Grief Grace is a podcast dedicated to those in the throes of caregiving and loss with honest, compassionate conversations about grief, healing, and what it means to keep living after loss. Hosted by Lisa Hartung, a speaker, HR professional, and fellow griever, each episode creates space for the stories we don't always know how to tell.
From disenfranchised and hidden grief, to grieving while parenting, to the ways men experience loss differently, to the unexpected power of creativity and legacy, this show covers grief in all its forms. Featuring expert guests, real stories, and practical tools you can use right now.
If you've lost someone you love or are in the throes of caregiving, you belong here.
New episodes drop every Sunday. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Giving Grief Grace, a Grief Podcast for the Sandwich Generation
Episode 63 - Grief at Work: A Compassionate Guide for Employees, Managers & HR Practitioners
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Grief doesn't clock out when the workday starts. In this solo episode, Lisa draws on her own experience as an HR practitioner and a griever, from caregiving for her mother through stage 4 pancreatic cancer to losing her grandmother while sitting alone in an office. She walks through what it actually looks like to navigate grief at work, from every seat at the table.
Lisa breaks down anticipatory grief, caregiving exhaustion, and delayed grief that resurfaces around anniversaries and holidays, and offers concrete guidance for employees on communicating needs, understanding FMLA and bereavement leave, and knowing when to lean on an EAP or short-term disability. For managers and HR practitioners, she shares what compassionate support really looks like from checking in privately, marking anniversary dates, avoiding empty platitudes, to building flexibility into policy rather than just offering it as an afterthought.
Key Takeaways:
- Grief has no timeline- anticipatory, delayed, and disenfranchised grief all deserve space at work, not just the days immediately following a loss
- Employees: be transparent early with your manager, understand your FMLA and bereavement rights, and don't wait too long to take leave
- Managers: lead with presence over policy, check in privately, mark important dates, and never assume grief ends when leave does
- HR practitioners: EAPs, PTO donation programs, and flexible leave policies can make a life-changing difference for grieving employees
- No one should have to carry grief alone at work or anywhere else
If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Maybe that's a grieving coworker, a manager who doesn't know what to say, or an HR practitioner building a more compassionate workplace.
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Special thanks to:
Podcast Editor Jacqueline van Bierk of Pink Star Music
Podcast Music Good_B_Music
