Turning work into a refuge: job crafting as coping with personal, grief-inducing events

Building on an inductive, qualitative study of employees who experienced grief-inducing events such as bereavement or breakup, this paper explores how and with what consequences work becomes a refuge from grief-inducing experiences in people’s lives. Using the results of 68 in-depth interviews, I develop an inductive model that shows that grieving employees not only find refuge in work but can also turn their work into a refuge for themselves. In particular, the model explicates how people turn work into a refuge by engaging in job crafting behavior. I also show perceived consequences of this process that occur in both work and life domains. Such consequences tend to be positive, yet those who work significantly harder also experience negative consequences. This paper advances theorizing on grief in organizations and job crafting

From grieving to career change : how personal, grief-inducing events affect professional life

Des études récentes ont souligné que si nous en savons beaucoup sur la complexité du domaine professionnel, la complexité du domaine de la vie privée a été négligée et limitée aux exigences du domaine familial. En particulier, le contexte important et récurent d'un employé en deuil a reçu peu d'attention, sans justification claire. Un tel manque de compréhension de la complexité du domaine de la vie privée et de la variété d'événements significatifs qu'il inclut conduit par conséquent à un manque de compréhension de la manière dont cette complexité affecte le domaine du travail. C'est pourquoi, dans ma thèse, j'examine le contexte d'un employé en deuil, c'est-à-dire l'impact d'événements personnels qui provoquent le deuil sur la vie professionnelle d'une personne en deuil. Dans mon premier essai qualitatif, j'explore l'effet à court terme des événements provoquant le deuil sur le domaine du travail, en particulier la manière dont les gens utilisent leur travail pour faire face aux événements de deuil, ainsi que les conséquences d'une telle adaptation. Sur la base des résultats de 64 entretiens approfondis, je développe un modèle conceptuel du travail en tant que refuge et constate que les gens s'engagent dans un comportement de job crafting afin de faire face aux événements personnels qui provoquent le deuil au travail. De tels changements dans le comportement au travail ont des conséquences à la fois dans le domaine du travail et dans celui de la vie privée. Cet essai contribue à la théorisation du deuil dans les organisations, de la compassion et des comportements de job crafting. Dans mon deuxième essai qualitatif, j'étudie l'effet à long terme des événements provoquant le deuil sur la vie professionnelle et, en particulier, sur l'identité professionnelle. À partir des résultats de 55 entretiens approfondis, je constate que les événements qui provoquent un deuil incitent à “l'humanisation de l'identité” qui, à son tour, conduit à la réaffectation des ressources d'équilibre entre vie professionnelle et vie privée, à des changements de carrière ou à l'adoption d'un comportement de job crafting. Cet article contribue à la théorisation de l'identité, du sens du travail et de l'interface entre vie professionnelle et vie privée. Dans mon troisième essai conceptuel, j'examine les facteurs qui influencent la mesure dans laquelle un employé en deuil utilise son travail comme refuge. Je construis cet élément conceptuel sur les résultats de mon premier essai et je propose de les développer davantage. Cet essai contribue à théoriser du deuil dans les organisations.Recent scholarship has emphasized that, while we know a lot about the complexity of the work domain, the complexity of the life domain has been neglected and limited to the family domain demands. In particular, an important and highly timely phenomenon of a grieving employee received unjustifiably little attention. Such a lack of understanding of the complexity of the life domain and the variety of significant events it includes consequently leads to a lack of understanding of how such complexity affects the work domain. Therefore, in my dissertation, I examine the context of a grieving employee, i.e., the impact personal, grief-inducing events have on the professional life of a griever. In my first qualitative essay, I explore the short-term effect of grief-inducing events on the work domain, in particular, how people use their work in order to cope with grief-inducing events, as well as what consequences such coping leads to. Based on the results of 64 in-depth interviews, I developed a conceptual model of work-as-refuge and find that people engage in job crafting behavior to cope with personal grief-inducing events at work. Such changes in the work behavior have consequences in both the work and life domains. This essay advances theorizing on grief in organizations, compassion, and job crafting. In my second qualitative essay, I investigate the long-term effect of grief-inducing events on professional life and, in particular, on work identity. Using the results of 55 in-depth interviews, I find that grief-inducing events prompt identity humanizing that, in turn, leads to the reallocation of work-life balance resources, career path changes, or engagement in job crafting behavior. This paper advances theorizing on identity, the meaning of work, and the work-life interface. In my third conceptual essay, I examine the factors that affect the extent to which a grieving employee would use work as a refuge. I build this conceptual piece on the findings of my first essay and propose their further development. This essay advances theorizing on grief in organizations

Understanding and Supporting Grief in the Professional Environment

International audienceThis symposium contributes to the Academy of Management’s conference theme “Innovating for the Future: Policy, Purpose, and Organizations,” showcasing five papers that highlight the impact of personal and professional grief on work and personal well-being. Loss and grief are inevitable parts of personal and professional life. Despite how common, yet critical grief-related experiences may be in workers’ lives, management scholarship on the topic remains limited in its understanding of (1) the personal beliefs and understandings people within organizations hold about grief and the influence these beliefs may have on the experience of grief at work, (2) the nuanced varieties in grieving employees’ experiences with personal and professional loss contributing to how workers communicate, make sense of, and move forward with their grief and (3) how colleagues, leaders, and organizations can best support grieving employees. This symposium includes mixed methods, qualitative, and quantitative research perspectives that enrich the current understanding of grieving workers’ beliefs and experiences and provides research-based recommendations for organizations in managing and supporting grieving individuals. Together, with discussion led by Professor Olivia “Mandy” O’Neill, these papers aim to provide insights into the processes and outcomes of grief and mourning for employees, their colleagues, and organizations, engage an emerging community of scholars focused on issues related to grief, well-being, and the work-life interface, and generate a strong program of future academic research