Grief is too often considered as the sole response of an individual to the loss of a loved one. It is perceived as a more or less prolonged process that can be described through a series of stages or phases enabling the passage of grief. This article puts into question this egocentric conception of grief. On the one hand, it is based on how grief is experienced at the workplace when a person goes back to work after the loss of a loved one. On the other hand it explores how social workers consider themselves as being in grief, or not, after the death of individuals whom they support. This article shows that grief is shaped above all by a succession of moments and circumstances of emotional and affective intensity that varies according to social contexts and interactions between individuals more or less concerned with somebody’s death.