Work goes on: Exploring the relationship between grieving and meaning-making in the workplace
說明
147 p
附註
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 74-08(E), Section: B
Adviser: Margaret Diddams
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Seattle Pacific University, 2013
The experience of simultaneously grieving and working is a common one, however, few studies have been conducted to examine this interaction, and they primarily highlight work as an impediment to grieving, and grief as an impediment to work. There is some evidence that when coping with grief people will try to make meaning of the loss, which may interact with work, and could lead to positive appraisals of working while grieving
To better understand the experiences of grieving workers and the role of meaning-making as a coping process, an inaugural study was conducted. Using Consensual Qualitative Research, in depth interviews with 15 participants were conducted. All participants had suffered a significant loss within the past 5 years, and all were working full time at the time of loss
Findings provide evidence that people can both work and grieve, and that work, and work relationships may be a comfort after a significant loss. All participants used some form of meaning-making to cope with loss. Meaning was made outside of work that informed work, and meaning was made at work that informed the loss. In some cases, the work itself served as the source from which meaning was drawn and comfort was found, and in some cases work was an outcome, changed or reaffirmed when making sense of the loss
Results indicated that if work is satisfying pre-loss it will likely remain so when grieving. The work itself, and/or the work environment, especially the relationships formed at work, can help people find or repair meaning after the loss. Conversely, relationships at work that fail a grieving employee, and policies that fail an employee, can be the impetus to leave a job
The stories collected in this study open up new perspectives of the way working and grieving are thought about, experienced, and managed. Managers can expect that employees will generally be resilient in the face of loss and a grieving worker can be productive and valuable. For grieving employees work can be a place of comfort and solace, a place where care and purpose lend meaning to the loss
