New York Life Foundation’s 2024 State of Grief Report Reveals Ongoing Need and Growing Want for Holistic Bereavement Support in Workplaces, Schools, and Communities
2024年7月17日 - 10:30PM
ビジネスワイヤ(英語)
Annually commissioned by the New York Life Foundation to
evaluate the bereavement landscape, the 2024 State of Grief Report
highlights not only the ongoing need, but also a growing desire,
for holistic help and support for those experiencing grief in
workplaces, schools, and communities.
“Grief is a natural experience, yet a topic not widely
discussed,” said Heather Nesle, president of the New York Life
Foundation, one of the largest corporate funders of bereavement
support. “Our work in the bereavement space has shown the crucial
nature of identifying those who are grieving, raising awareness of
grief’s impacts, and highlighting the resources that are available.
As the need for bereavement support is ever present, the growing
interest to do more, particularly from workplace colleagues,
teachers, and afterschool professionals, is heartening.”
Seventy-one percent of employed adults indicated being very or
somewhat interested in taking voluntary grief support training to
help their colleagues through a loss. Other notable findings
include:
- Eighty-five percent of those surveyed agreed they would be
proud to work at an employer that has publicly committed to being
grief-supportive.
- Eighty percent of respondents believe there should be an
emphasis on establishing a systemic approach to identifying
bereaved children and linking them with support services.
- Eighty-one percent of respondents think that at least one of a
bereaved child’s personal documents (i.e., school, medical,
government) should indicate their loss.
- Ninety percent of both teachers and afterschool professionals
agree that identifying students who have faced a significant death,
such as a parent or caregiver, is crucial information that should
be included in school records.
- Ninety-two percent of teachers, and eighty-nine percent of
afterschool professionals, would like to do more to support
grieving students.
New York Life Foundation’s commitment to grief
support
Having invested more than $75 million since 2008 to create a
comprehensive approach to bereavement support, the New York Life
Foundation continually pursues innovative solutions to the
challenges of connecting grieving individuals, and those who care
about them, with impactful resources. With an initial focus on
supporting bereaved children, the team’s efforts have evolved to
span workplaces, schools, and communities to meet grieving
individuals where they are – and support the whole person as they
navigate their grief over time. This work includes:
- New York Life Foundation’s Grief-Supportive Workplace
Initiative, which provides companies with manager, colleague, and
griever-specific trainings for their workforces.
- New York Life’s Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative® (GSSI),
which raises awareness about grief and supportive resources in
schools through the deployment of the company’s nationwide
workforce.
- GSSI+, an expansion of GSSI beyond schools to
out-of-school-time settings, such as afterschool and summer
programs.
- New York Life Foundation’s efforts to create a culture of grief
sensitivity in communities by sharing the importance of
identification, documentation, and preparedness in schools,
doctors’ offices, and government agencies.
“This year’s State of Grief report provides opportunities for
action,” said Maria Collins, vice president of the New York Life
Foundation. “We encourage all to reflect on how best to bring these
resources to their employers, schools, and communities to support
those who may be grieving and to foster a more grief-supportive
culture.”
The 2024 State of Grief Report, which also features insights
from the New York Life Foundation’s extensive network of
bereavement experts, is available here.
Free bereavement resources from the New York Life Foundation can
be found here.
2024 State of Grief Report survey methodology
General survey methodology: This pool was conducted by
Morning Consult from December 7-12, 2023, among a sample of 1,017
adults. The interviews were conducted online, and the data was
weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender,
age, race, educational attainment, and region. Results from the
full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage
points.
School teacher and afterschool professional survey
methodology: This poll was conducted by Morning Consult from
December 6-18, 2023, among a sample of 299 current teachers (K-12)
and 201 afterschool professionals. Afterschool professionals were
defined as employed adults who worked with children in an
afterschool setting. Teachers have a margin of error of plus or
minus 6 percentage points and afterschool professionals 7
percentage points.
About the New York Life Foundation
Inspired by New York Life’s tradition of service and humanity,
the New York Life Foundation has, since its founding in 1979,
provided over $440 million in charitable contributions to national
and local nonprofit organizations. The Foundation supports programs
that benefit young people, particularly in the areas of educational
enhancement, childhood bereavement, and social justice. The
Foundation also encourages and facilitates the community
involvement of employees and agents of New York Life through its
Volunteers for Good program and Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative.
To learn more, please visit www.newyorklifefoundation.org.
1“CDC Provisional Mortality Data, 2022” Provisional Mortality
Data — United States, 2022 | MMWR (cdc.gov)
2“Judi’s House/JAG Institute Childhood Bereavement Estimation
Model” Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model - Judi's House
(judishouse.org)
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Kevin Maher New York Life (212) 576-6955
kevin_b_maher@newyorklife.com