How grief, vulnerability and crisis are affecting Yorkshire’s workforce
Posted on Monday 1 June 2026
It’s one of the most overlooked challenges facing workplaces today - how employers
respond to grief, shame, loss and vulnerability - and leaders from across the region are
now being invited to a Meaningful Business event in York to explore how these
experiences affect staff wellbeing and performance, and what they can do to create
healthier, more supportive and resilient workplace cultures.
The event comes at a time when businesses are facing unprecedented uncertainty.
Recent forecasts from the Item Club, one of the UK’s leading independent economic
forecasters, warn that the UK is set to lose 163,000 jobs in 2026, with Leeds alone
expected to shed 9,800 roles as economic pressures intensify. The Humber, one of the
UK’s most vulnerable regions, is projected to lose a further 2,800 jobs as manufacturing
and construction are hit by rising energy costs and global supply chain disruption. The
World Economic Forum has also highlighted how today’s overlapping crises are
triggering business closures, job losses and heightened anxiety among leaders and
staff.
Organised by the Meaningful Business Network, a group established by Enterprise
Works and the School for Business and Society at the University of York, attendees will
hear from Dr Bob Townley, Academic Lead for Employability and Enterprise, and Dr
Divya Jyoti, whose research focuses on loss, grief and vulnerability in organisations.
They say that in the current climate, earlier experiences of stress, instability or loss are
increasingly resurfacing in the workplace, shaping how people cope, perform and lead.
“Businesses are made up of people,” says Dr Townley, “and people do not leave their
personal experiences at the workplace door. Yet subjects such as grief, shame and
vulnerability are often hidden or avoided in organisational life.
“This event is about creating a space where businesses can openly explore these
issues, think differently about leadership and workplace culture and consider how
organisations can respond in healthier and more meaningful ways.”
The event will also feature contributions from psychotherapist Brian De Lord, who will
speak about shared vulnerability, Liz Awad, whose work explores resilience and crisis
through the experiences of refugee women in Lebanon, and Adrian-Paul Liddell of Busy
Energy. Mr Liddell will share his lived experience as a local SME owner-manager who
has rebuilt both his life, work and business following experiences of loss.
Meanwhile, Demi-Leigh Mitcheson, Head of Employee Experience at engineering
component distributor company Accu, will be talking about her role in terms of taking
care of peoples personal and emotional needs, with a focus on mental health and
wellbeing.
Dr Adrian Madden, a specialist in Meaningful Business research and one of the event
organisers, said businesses were increasingly recognising the need for more human-
centred leadership.
“For a long time these conversations have been seen as separate from business
performance and organisational success, but we know that workplaces function best
when people feel supported, understood and psychologically safe.
“This is about encouraging organisations to think more deeply about the role business
can play in helping people thrive, even during periods of uncertainty, loss or crisis.”
Meaningful Business - Learning from vulnerability: Shame, loss, grief and
sadness in the workplace, takes place on 16th June 2026 at The Guildhall, York.
Meaningful Business events regularly reach capacity, so early booking is strongly
encouraged to avoid disappointment.
For more information and to join the Meaningful Business Network, please visit Meaningful Business Network.