Abstract
The funeral and mortuary sector, including funeral homes, cemeteries and crematoria, is a largely neglected sector in regard to the study of occupational factors that can affect the quality of working life. The present study aimed at overcoming this gap by investigating job demands and resources that may affect burnout levels. Data were collected through a self-report questionnaire involving funeral industry employees (N = 229) from cemetery, morgues, crematoria and funeral agencies in a Northern Italian region. The survey was cross-sectional and non-randomized. Results reveal that among job demands, stigma consciousness, supervisor incivility and work-to-family negative spillover significantly affect levels of burnout, whereas meaningfulness of work and family-to-work positive spillover may represent relevant resources to counter the onset of burnout. The results of this study contribute to new insights into the psychosocial working conditions that affect occupational wellbeing among the funeral industry sector by also giving insight into how to promote resources to prevent burnout.
Highlights
The funeral and mortuary sector, including funeral homes, cemeteries and crematoria, is a largely neglected sector in regard to the study of occupational factors that can affect the quality of working life and mental health [1]
Significant differences in the study variables occurred between males and females regarding levels of stigma, which was significantly higher for males (F = 5.58, p = 0.019)
Among service sector, cemetery employees were significantly lower for meaningfulness of work and significantly higher for supervisor incivility, work to family negative spillover, emotional exhaustion and cynicism compared to the other services (FMW = 3.44, p = 0.018; FIS = 5.57, p = 0.001; FNSPWH = 5.58, p = 0.001; FEE = 10.54, p = 0.000; FCY = 12.57, p = 0.000)
Summary
The funeral and mortuary sector, including funeral homes, cemeteries and crematoria, is a largely neglected sector in regard to the study of occupational factors that can affect the quality of working life and mental health [1]. Unlike other occupational categories, such as health care and social workers, firefighters and police officers, who are exposed to death and suffering, funeral and mortuary workers are very often confronted with the social invisibility that permeates these professions [2], reflecting the widespread social taboos that surround death and the manipulation of dead bodies [3,4]. Workers in the funeral and mortuary sector constitute an essential professional category that must deal every day with work-related risks and job demands that may affect health and wellbeing.
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