Offering Sympathy In A Professional Manner  

It might feel natural to offer a friend or family member a hug or a shoulder to cry on when they lose someone special to them. But if someone in your office is having cremation services in Houston, TX for a loved one who passed on, while you still want to offer your sympathies, you might also want to keep things on the professional level. Here are a few ways you might be able to do just that. 

While everyone in the office has heard that the person in your midst has lost a loved one, and everyone feels bad, that doesn’t mean the whole office should show up at the cremation service or at the person’s doorstep. Instead, it’s a good idea to designate one person to attend the services for the group. Choose the boss, perhaps, or the person who leads the co-worker's project. You can also send the person closest to them within the office. This person can convey the sympathies of the entire office without overwhelming your co-worker. You don’t want to take up all of the space at the event with people they work with, either, when this is really about their family and friend groups. 

When you see your co-worker again, whether that’s at the final service they have for their loved one, or when they return to the office, you are going to want to convey your condolences. Let them know you are sorry for their loss and that you have been thinking of them. You don’t have to say more than that. This is a professional way to convey your sympathies. 

The people in your office might want to reach out to your co-worker, but you don’t have to do it as individuals, but rather can do so as a company as a whole. Take a pool of money from the group and order a flower arrangement that comes from all of you. Or, send a memorial donation and a card that everyone signs. It’s nice to send something from everyone instead of individually. 

Your co-worker has friends and family members that can help them with things outside of the office. Since the way you know them is through work, if you want to help them with things, perhaps offer your help with things inside the office. Ask if they would like their mail brought to their house to open while they are away. Tell them you will forward emails of the minutes from meetings they’ve missed. There are likely lots of things you can do to help them out in the office while they are dealing with final service plans. 

If a co-worker is taking some time off to deal with cremation services in Houston, TX, it might be a nice idea to call and check on them later on. You can ask them if they need anything from the office and let them know you are all supporting them.