Bereavement policy
let’s talk about it.

In 2013, my grandmother, who was my favorite person, had a brain tumor. She was rushed to hospital and put on life support.

She was states away, and I had a narrow window to go down, hold her hand, and tell her my final goodbyes before they stopped the support.

The funeral would be held about a week later.

Distraught, I went to my then corporate HR department to tell them I’d need to take multiple days for this traumatic loss.

“Well, she’s not immediate family, so you only get one day.”

“What? She’s like a parent to me?”

“I’m sorry, that’s the policy.”

“Ok, I’ll just take time with no pay. This is important. I can’t put a price on being with my family.”

“Mmm as a salaried employee that’s not really common
”

I stood there incredulously.

It was a shame, because otherwise I had a great experience with this employer; that incident left such a sour taste in my mouth.

So, when I started my own company, I vowed I’d never do that to people. Grief is a process. A HARD one.

At Brandwise, we give generous paid time when


> a loved one dies
> a pet dies
> friends die

Because I’ll never make someone work through their grief and not be with their family as they heal.

People > policy.

If you’re not exercising compassion as a leader, people WILL remember that.

#hr #leadership
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