# One in 10 grieving workers ends up with burn-out

> A survey by the CNV union finds that many Dutch workers struggle after losing a loved one, and more than half do not know whether bereavement leave arrangements apply to them. CNV is pressing for two weeks of statutory bereavement leave.

Society · published 2026-11-02 06:14 · https://nlnow.nl/a/one-in-10-grieving-employees-ends-up-in-burn-out-survey-finds/

One in ten employees who lose a loved one ends up with burn-out, and a quarter have burn-out symptoms. That is the finding of a survey by the trade union CNV of 1,500 employees who suffered a bereavement in the past ten years. Some 30% felt pressured to go back to work sooner.

According to CNV, 53% do not know whether bereavement leave arrangements apply to them. CNV says statutory bereavement leave is still not in place.

**** (% of respondents; source: CNV)

- Harder to concentrate: 69
- Made more mistakes or struggled to finish tasks: 42
- Felt pressured to return sooner: 30
- In a burn-out: 10

“Grief can turn your life completely upside down, but at work you often just have to carry on,” said CNV chair Hans van den Heuvel. “It's incomprehensible that we still have no statutory bereavement leave.”

CNV has campaigned since 2020 for two weeks of statutory bereavement leave. The union says an initiative bill (a bill from MPs rather than the government) has sat on the shelf for two years. It also negotiates leave in collective labour agreements (cao).

CNV's guide for employers, “Hoe werkt rouw” (How grief works), has been requested more than 10,000 times. A sixth edition will be published this month.

## Background

- **CNV (Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond)**: The Christian National Trade Union Federation is a trade union confederation in the Netherlands that represents employees and negotiates on their behalf with employers. It is one of the country's main union federations, alongside FNV and other unions. It campaigns for workers' rights and takes positions on policy, including proposals for new laws, and it negotiates pay and conditions in collective labour agreements.
- **cao (collectieve arbeidsovereenkomst)**: A collective labour agreement is a written agreement between employers or employers' organisations and trade unions that sets pay and working conditions for a sector or company, such as working hours, holiday and leave. It applies to the employees covered by it, and it often gives rights that go beyond the legal minimum. Whether a cao applies depends on the sector and the employer, so leave arrangements can differ between jobs.

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