Grief is the New Normal Podcast: S3E14 The Hidden Cost of Grief at Work: A Conversation with Judi Johnson cover art

Grief is the New Normal Podcast: S3E14 The Hidden Cost of Grief at Work: A Conversation with Judi Johnson

Grief is the New Normal Podcast: S3E14 The Hidden Cost of Grief at Work: A Conversation with Judi Johnson

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Summary

 What happens when grief walks into the office and no one knows what to do with it? In this episode of Grief is the New Normal, Dr. Heather Taylor sits down with Judi Johnson, grief coach and workplace grief educator from New Zealand, to talk about one of the most underaddressed intersections in professional life: grief in the workplace. From construction sites to corporate boardrooms, grief doesn't clock out when we do, and the cost of ignoring it is higher than most organizations realize. Judi brings both professional expertise and lived experience to this conversation, including her own journey through childlessness not by choice, the compression of multiple grief events, and working in high-risk environments without the support or language to name what she was carrying. In this episode, Judi and Dr. Taylor cover: - Grief literacy in the workplace and why most organizations are starting from zero - How grief symptoms mimic mental health conditions and why that distinction matters for job performance and safety - Spatial awareness, decision making, delayed reactions, and the real cognitive impact of grief on the job - Why childless not by choice grief is one of the most invisible and disenfranchised losses in professional settings - The compounding effect of grief for marginalized groups including expats, LGBTQIA+ employees, and those navigating infertility - How people pleasing and masking keep grieving employees stuck in silence - Practical, low-barrier steps leaders and HR teams can take today to build grief-informed workplaces - Why bereavement leave policies often fail grieving employees before the grief has even begun - Buddy systems, honest one-on-ones, and the small shifts that create cultures of compassionate support About Judi Johnson: Judi is a certified coach and ICF-accredited grief practitioner based in Auckland, New Zealand. She works privately with clients who are childless not by choice (CNBC), helping them navigate grief and build a fulfilling, joyful life. In addition to 1-1 coaching, she delivers grief education to workplaces, particularly in high-risk industries such as construction, highlighting how grief impacts cognitive function, safety, and productivity. Her mission is to work with businesses to create compassionate, grief informed workplace cultures. https://linktr.ee/embraceyourfuture.judi Two handouts- coping mechanisms and breaking free from people pleasing https://www.embraceyourfuture.net/copingmechanisms https://www.embraceyourfuture.net/breakingfree Keywords this episode speaks to: grief in the workplace, workplace grief support, childless not by choice grief, disenfranchised grief, grief-informed workplaces, employee wellbeing, bereavement leave, grief and job performance, HR grief training, grief and safety, grief coach, anticipatory grief, grief literacy, childless grief, infertility grief, marginalized grief, compassionate workplace culture, grief and mental health Resources mentioned: The Grieving Brain by Mary-Frances O'Connor Embrace Your Future: embraceyourfuture.net World Childless Week ------------------------------ Grief is not a problem to solve. It is a human experience to move through, and most of us were never taught how. Grief is the New Normal is hosted by Dr. Heather Taylor, licensed psychologist and grief specialist with over a decade of experience in grief, trauma, and reproductive psychology. This show exists to change the conversation around loss by expanding what grief looks like, who it belongs to, and what it actually means to integrate it into your life. Whether you're grieving a death, a diagnosis, a relationship, an identity shift, or the world as you knew it, your grief is real, it deserves space, and you are not behind. And if you're a clinician, coach, or helper carrying your own grief while holding space for others, this show was built for you too. Dr. Taylor brings research-informed frameworks, honest clinical perspective, and the STAY framework, a grief-informed approach to living with loss that goes far beyond the five stages. Expect nuance, depth, and conversations that take grief seriously. No toxic positivity. No fixing. Just honest conversation, real validation, and a community built around grief literacy, disenfranchised grief, anticipatory grief, collective grief, and the full spectrum of human loss. grief support podcast · disenfranchised grief · anticipatory grief · grief after loss · grief for clinicians · grief-informed care · grief literacy · coping with grief · grief and identity · mental health and grief · reproductive grief · pet loss grief · collective trauma and grief · moral injury · grief integration · STAY framework New episodes dropping regularly Subscribe to the Bridging the Grief Gap newsletter on LinkedIn for deeper dives, resources, and grief-literate tools LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/heather-taylor-psyd-licensed-psychologist Grab the Authentically Unapologetic Grief Journal → https://a.co/d...
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