The Grief-Work Interface: How Employees Navigate Work After Losing a Loved One

Abstract

In the United States, employees receive an average of four days of bereavement leave following the death of a family member. When they return to work, their grief is unlikely to be checked at the office door, and is instead carried over into the workplace. Grief research, however, has largely been limited to the clinical and social psychological sciences, thus leaving unaccounted for work-related considerations of the grief experience. In this research, I address this gap by examining what the grief-work experience entails and how it impacts bereaved employees. Using a mixed-methods approach, I first conducted 31 interviews (inductive Study 1) to understand the bereaved employee experience. Based on these insights, I developed a theoretical model delineating the positive and negative impact that work experiences have on the bereaved employee. Then, I conducted a three-wave field study (deductive Study 2) with a broader sample of 500 recently bereaved employees to test this theoretical model. Across both studies, I find that work experiences may be helpful (grief diversion, experienced compassion) or harmful (grief intrusion, experienced callousness), and have the potential to replenish or exacerbate positive states (sense of normalcy, purpose, connection) that facilitate employee well-being (lower work impairment, lower distress). In sum, this research sheds light on the nuances of the bereaved employee experience.