Anyone who has grieved the loss of a pet understands that the pain is similar to that of losing a family member. Yet, animal bereavement is often not taken seriously within the workplace environment.

“The stages of grief and loss for a pet are no different than if you have lost (a human),” psychotherapist Jenn Mann told Moneyish. “I can’t tell you how many times I have worked with clients who have said, ‘My dog or my cat was there through a difficult breakup or a divorce or a career catastrophe.’ Our animals are there for us, and they love us unconditionally.”

Even when it comes to mourning the loss of human family members, most companies have little leeway. For a spouse or a child, the average is four days of leave, while for a parent, sibling, or foster child, it is only three.

However, some progressive companies are changing the conversation surrounding pet grief. Rover, a Seattle-based dog walking company, gives employees three days of pet leave in addition to human. “It’s not a very costly benefit to the company, but it could make a huge difference to the employees’ lives and to their loyalty to the company,” the company's director Jovana Teodorovic said.

Life and loss don't always bend to the constraints of a 9-to-5, but perhaps in the future more employers will start giving workers time to grieve.