Apple TV’s Shrinking is a case study in how to support to grieving employees

In AppleTV’s Emmy-nominated series Shrinking, therapist Paul Rhoades, played by Harrison Ford, sums up grief in a beautiful way:

“Nobody gets through this life unscathed…But, then you’re left with a choice: Are you gonna let your grief drown you, or are you gonna face it and come through the other side?”

The show, which wrapped up its third season in April, follows Jimmy, played by Jason Siegel, a widower who tragically lost his wife in a car accident. It explores his grief as he tries (and fails and tries again) to work as a licensed therapist at Paul’s practice, raise his daughter, and take care of himself. His grief is all-consuming, a feeling anyone who’s experienced loss knows all too well.

“It shows how messy [grief] can be,” Michelle Desmond, a thanatologist, told HR Brew. “Jason Siegel, the way we meet his character is like, ‘What’s happening to this guy?’ He’s grieving. He’s struggling.”

Exploring grief at work. Jimmy’s life starts to turn around thanks to the help of many loved ones, including Paul, who helps him prioritize his own healing amid the demands of his job.

Not only does Shrinking illustrate how grief can manifest in and take over an employee’s work life, Desmond said, but it also shows how their colleagues and leaders can respond to it.

“In the show, and for therapists, they’re a lot more comfortable with setting the stage for that conversation,” she said. “But, if you can get comfortable with it, and you can feel that vulnerability of, ‘Oh gosh, I might not know exactly what to say, but I’m going to create a space for this person,’ can create such a relief for the grieving individual.”

What’s the takeaway for HR? People pros can encourage managers and employees to check in with their colleagues who may be grieving and ask how they’re feeling in the wake of loss, Desmond said. But their longer-term goal should be increasing grief literacy in the workplace so that they and their organization’s employees can better understand and support colleagues experiencing loss.

“What we want is for grieving people to be able to come back to work to be treated as humans, to be acknowledged, and for work environments to be able to care for how difficult that is,” she said. “HR can have a role in saying, ‘What is our culture? How could this benefit our culture, and what does it look like to support our people in becoming more grief literate?”