How to better support workers who have gone through pregnancy loss

A little known fact is that one in four pregnancies in the UK ends in loss through miscarriage or other complications.

Research has shown that many employers do not know how to navigate the situation. 52% of working parents said they had, or would quit, over a lack of support in this area. Only 69% of employees felt their manager wanted to support them, but only 30% of employees said their manager knew how to support them. 

This is not surprising as it is a very personal and sensitive issue.

These five steps may help to better support workers going through pregnancy loss:

1. Take a Human Approach – First and foremost be kind, and handle the emotions compassionately and humanely by primarily just listening and being there for them. Focus on their needs at that time, their world has crumbled, don’t add to it by issuing job loss threats either explicitly, or implicitly. Give them a bit of time.
2. The Business Case – Don’t just pay lip service to “people are our most important asset”. They are, they run your business so make sure managers appreciate this. A happy a workforce is more productive, and they’ll do better quality work, better work means happier clients, happy clients means a more successful business. So that’s the way we need to be looking at it, rather than ‘what do I get in return?’, there are plenty of hidden longer term benefits t the company.
3. Reward employees who go above and beyond in this area – Staff networks such as parents and carers networks within organisations, are often responsible for driving awareness campaigns and change throughout the business. This involves effort, and such networks might evoke wider organisational change that can make the business look good. However, they are rarely rewarded for their efforts.
4. Offer training and support for managers – There must be structures in place to better support managers to support employees. People become managers, they don’t necessarily choose it, and usually they become managers because they are really good at the job that they’re doing. That’s not necessarily, and in practice rarely is, the same as having the skills to manage and support the team to help the team thrive and support them in the moments that matter most.
5. Ensure everyone is part of the conversation – These conversations primarily focus on women, and men impacted by the issues often are not considered and do not speak about it. Ensure that men feel they can engage in conversations around pregnancy loss and feel comfortable talking about their experiences. This might involve a shift in language catering to men. People often talk about vulnerability and ask men to show more vulnerability, but actually firms should try saying ‘you can be brave’, so it’s encouraging people to talk up.  By reframing the language, more men might feel better capable of speaking up on these issues. 

Employers can also refer to ACAS for further guidance on supporting workers who have gone through pregnancy loss.