Most grieving Americans receive just 3 days of paid bereavement leave and expanding that could have big benefits

Grief can affect all aspects of a person’s life. Yet modern workplaces are woefully behind when it comes to supporting employees through a loss.

Around 90% of employers offer bereavement leave, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s 2022 employee benefits survey, up from 81% in 2016. But 60% of employers still only offer up to three days off, according to Option B, a nonprofit co-founded by former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg to help people navigate loss and hardship. The organization recently launched a national advocacy campaign urging employers to improve their policies. 

Option B recommends employers expand their bereavement policies beyond three to five days, and although they don’t have a set number in mind for how long it should be, they say that “best-in-class” companies offer up to 20 days for the death of an immediate family member, including Meta, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs. 

“From a business perspective, investing more in expanded bereavement leave makes a lot of sense,” says Rachel Thomas, CEO of OptionB.Org and LeanIn.Org. “People are distracted, understandably, they’re not fully present when they’re grieving.” She adds that it’s a type of leave that employees typically won’t use as often as other paid time off.

But experts say there are other ways that employers can expand their bereavement policies, including flexibility about when the leave can be taken, and what type of loss qualifies for time off.

“Modern policies are doing away with language that defines family by calling out specific roles in favor of more broad inclusive language, like the loss of a loved one,” says Heather Eastman, area vice president at consulting firm Gallagher’s human resources consulting & compensation practice. “And then secondarily, they’re also frequently being expanded to include pregnancy loss, both for men and women.”

Around 69% of employers currently offer paid bereavement leave for extended family or friends, or plan to do so by sometime next year, according to HR consulting firm Mercer’s Survey on Health & Benefit Strategies for 2024 report. And 58% plan to do the same for miscarriage bereavement.

At a time when leading with empathy is imperative for corporate leaders to attract and retain talent, expanding your bereavement leave is arguably one of the easiest ways to do that.

“From a risk perspective, enhancing or expanding a policy like this is a fairly low-risk, financial move to make, but it can do a lot for enhancing the culture of the organization,” says Eastman. And she adds that when it comes to recruiting, “being able to showcase a really modern and enhanced bereavement policy is just another arrow in the quiver.”

Paige McGlauflin
paige.mcglauflin@fortune.com
@paidion

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