After the death of her son Jimmy in 2014, Margo Fowkes (Folks) created Salt Water, a blog and online community that provides a safe harbor for those who are grieving the death of someone dear to them. Inspired by Jimmy’s determination to live a rich, full life despite his cancer diagnosis, Salt Water’s articles and other resources focus on healing and building a new life in the aftermath of a devastating loss.
Margo is also the founder and president of OnTarget Consulting, Inc., a firm specializing in helping organizations and individuals act strategically, improve their performance and achieve their business goals. She works with clients to solve problems of productivity, morale and innovation. 
Margo recently released her first book, Leading Through Loss: How to Navigate Grief at Work, and she coaches leaders on how to create a more compassionate culture by acknowledging and speaking openly about grief and loss in the workplace.
That's what we're talking about today: how to navigate grief in the workplace, from the perspective of the person in grief to her coworkers and her management team.
But particularly from the context of pet loss grief. I remember at one of the newspapers I worked at decades ago, one of our graphic designers had to say goodbye to her horse. She took her year's worth of vacation, two weeks.
And I'll fully admit I didn't get it then. It took the pain of losing Shep for me to understand the depth of pain, and I wasn't working at the time. I was home alone and I remember yearning to have a job at the time -- not just to keep me busy but also to have a community around me, even if it might not have been as supportive as I needed it to be at the time. Because pet loss grief is disenfranchised and might not rank as worthy in the eyes of many who don't get it.
We talk about that, too.
 
What to listen for
3:10 What drove Margo into the grief business
7:32 How we carry our grief into the workplace
11:35 How we can create a more supportive workplace
15:41 What can management teams do to help employees in grief
28:24 The essential elements of providing support in the workplace

Where to find Margo
Salt Water: Find Your Safe Harbor
Salt Water on Facebook
Salt Water on Instagram
OnTarget Consulting
Margo's
book, Leading Through Loss: How to Navigate Grief at Work, on Amazon



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