Grief at Work: What Leaders Need to Understand (with Elizabeth Meltz)

Listener note: This episode includes sensitive conversation around grief and loss. We invite you to listen in the way that feels most supportive to you.Grief doesn’t stay at home—it often comes to work with us. Yet many leaders are never taught how to recognize it, respond to it, or create space for it within their teams.In this episode of the WiRL Podcast, we’re joined by Elizabeth Meltz, founder of EM Path, and a longtime leader and advocate in the food and hospitality industry. Drawing from her leadership experience at organizations including Tacombi, Dig Food Group, Eataly, and Genuine Foods—and as co-founder of Women in Hospitality United—Elizabeth explores how grief shows up in the workplace and what compassionate, human-centered leadership can look like during difficult moments.Together, we discuss the many forms grief can take, the subtle ways it may surface at work, and how leaders can respond with empathy, care, and intention—without needing to have all the answers.Support resources:If this conversation brings up anything personal, and you’re looking for support, help is available. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.Additional resources shared by EM Path are available here: https://www.choose-empath.com/about