A preliminary investigation of factors associated with job loss grief.

This study investigated relationships among factors hypothesized as related to job loss grief. A summary grief score correlated positively with time since job loss and number of dependents, and negatively with length of notice. Perceived reemployment prospects and income loss related positively to some grief index subscales, as did the condition of living on one's own. Job duration correlated negatively with some grief responses. Implications for counseling and avenues for future research are discussed.

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Involuntary job loss has far-reaching effects on the well-being of individuals and families (Bejian & Salomone, 1995; Leana & Feldman, 1994; Turner, Kessler, & House, 1991; Vinokur, Price, & Caplan, 1996). Job loss can result in loss of identity, social contacts, and self-worth (Amundson & Borgen, 1992; Beehr, 1995). Coupled with economic loss, the emotional toll can be devastating. Life assumptions must be reevaluated and life stories revised (Balk, 1999; Neimeyer, 1998). Workers must adjust to changed roles as learners, family members, citizens, and leisure participants, and perhaps diminished roles as wage earners (Gysbers, Heppner, & Johnston, 1998). Counselors can play an important part in helping clients integrate job loss and related events into their new reality.

A review of the limited empirical literature available suggests that diverse factors may be related to the variability in former workers' responses to involuntary job loss. Attachment to the former job (Archer & Rhodes, 1993), job congruence and duration (Holland, 1985), and length of time since the loss (Leana & Feldman, 1994) may affect responses to job loss. Other factors include age (Wooten, Sulzer, & Cornwell, 1994), gender (Eby & Buch, 1995), social support (Caplan, Vinokur, Price, & van Ryn, 1989; Leana & Feldman, 1994; Turner et al., 1991), dependents, financial resources (Leana & Feldman, 1994; Turner et al., 1991), length of notice (Kinicki, Bracker, Kreitner, Lockwood, & Lemak, 1987), skill level (Besl & Kale, 1996), and perceived employment prospects (Gottfredson & Holland, 1990).

In this exploratory study, we hoped to determine which factors might be worthy of future investigation for their effects on job loss grief. On the basis of previous research, we hypothesized positive relationships between grief and job-congruence, job duration, income loss, length of time since job loss, skill level of the former job, age group, male gender, living on one's own (without spouse or partner), and number of dependents; and negative relationships between grief and length of notice and perceived prospects for reemployment.

Method

We surveyed a convenience sample of 66 respondents unemployed after an involuntary job loss. Participant volunteers were recruited at Employment Security Commission offices in two southeastern cities. Thirty respondents submitted completed questionnaires. Of those 30 respondents, 22 were women. The ethnic groups represented were White (25), Black (2), Asian/Pacific Islander (2), and Hispanic (1). Two of the participants were between 20 and 29 years old, 12 were between 30 and 39 years, 8 were between 40 and 49 years, 6 were between 50 and 59 years, and 2 were over 60 years of age.

Participants completed the Self-Directed Search, Form R (SDS; Holland, 1996) and the Grief Experience Inventory, Loss Version (GEI-LV; Sanders, Mauger, & Strong, 1985a), which included subscales measuring Despair, Anger-Hostility, Guilt, Social Isolation, Loss of Control, Rumination, Depersonalization, Somatization, and Death Anxiety. Test-retest reliability coefficients of the GEI (Cronbach's alpha) ranged from .71 to .87 for the nine grief subscales (Sanders, Mauger, & Strong, 1985b). Information also was collected about age, marital status, dependents, and about income loss, job duration, length of time since job loss, length of notice, perceived job prospects, and a description of the lost job.

The SDS (Holland, 1996) identified occupational interest codes (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional; RIASEC). The occupational environments of lost jobs were identified by matching Dictionary of Occupational Titles (U.S. Department of Labor, 1991) and Dictionary of Holland Occupational Codes (Gottfredson & Holland, 1989) classifications. Congruence between the individual's RIASEC code and the work environment code was computed for each participant using the formula C = 3([X.sub.i]) + 2([X.sub.i]) + ([X.sub.i]), where [X.sub.i] represents the score assigned to the comparison of the first, second, and third letter of the person's RIASEC code with the corresponding letter in the code of the former job, based on their relative distance on the hexagonal model (Brown & Gore, 1994).

Results

Means on the grief scales for this job loss sample were compared with means provided by Sanders et al. (1985b) for a reference group of bereaved individuals. Subscale (GEI) comparisons are reported in Table 1. In general, it appeared that the type of grief reported by both groups of individuals was similar in magnitude. Both groups were very similar in the GEI subscales (effect sizes ranging from 0 to .26) except for the Depersonalization variable, in which a moderate difference was found (effect size of .75). The job loss group had a lower mean (M = 2.67) on that variable than the combined bereavement group (M = 4.39). A possible explanation for the difference is that the shock experienced because of a death may be more dramatic and final, leading to detachment from the overwhelming stress of the event (Sperry, 1996).

None of the correlation coefficients calculated between the grief measures and person-job congruence scores were statistically significant. Social Isolation was the only grief measure yielding a statistically significant relationship with job duration (r = -.44, p < .01). Guilt was the only grief measure related to income loss (r = .37, p < .05). Time since job loss was related to Despair (r = .34, p < .05), Anger-Hostility (r = .34, p < .05), Social Isolation (r = .33, p < .05), Loss of Control (r = .47, p < .01), Depersonalization (r = .51, p < .01), Death Anxiety (r = .37, p < .05), and the overall grief score (r = .43, p < .05). Length of notice was negatively related to the total grief score (r = -.37, p < .05) and to the Despair (r = -.37, p < .05), Guilt (r = -.54, p < .01), Rumination (r = -.36, p < .05), and Depersonalization (r = -.32, p < .05) subscales. Prospects of finding a job were inversely related to Loss of Control (r = -.32, p < .05) and Depersonalization (r = -.36, p < .05). There was no statistically significant relationship between age and grief or between job skill level (Standard Vocational Preparation level; U.S. Department of Labor, 1981) and grief. Living on one's own was positively related with Despair (r = .35, p < .05) and Social Isolation (r = .31, p. < .05). Number of dependents was related to Anger-Hostility (r = .38, p < .05), Guilt (r = .32, p < .05), Rumination (r = .34, p < .05), Depersonalization (r = .41, p < .05), Somatization (r = .40, p < .05), and the overall grief score (r = .38, p < .05). Gender was related to Loss of Control (r = -.33, p < .05) and Somatization (r = -.42, p < .05).

Discussion

The results indicate that involuntary loss of a job is associated with grief, at least for some individuals. The subscale analyses tentatively suggest that counselors should be especially alert for signs of grief among workers who have been unemployed the longest, who have dependents, and who did not receive adequate notice that the job was ending. Clients may exhibit prolonged grief, including feelings of despair, anger and hostility, social isolation, loss of control, depersonalization, and death anxiety.

It was noted that length of notice was another factor negatively correlated with grief, particularly on the Despair, Guilt, Rumination, and Depersonalization subscales. Inadequate preparation time for an event imposes adverse effects on mental health (Parkes, 1988). Therefore, employees who are given little notice prior to job loss may be at higher risk for grief reactions. Counselors should listen for expressions of helplessness and powerlessness and help clients sort their emotions and focus on constructing their futures (Allcorn, 1994).

Because the number of men in the sample was relatively small, further research is needed to clarify the true relationship between gender and job loss grief. Men in this study reported greater loss of control and somatization responses. Individuals exhibiting such responses may need help recreating meaning by identifying roles in which they can remain productive, such as citizens and family members.

Despite the fact that job duration was not, as hypothesized, related to total grief measures, there was a significant negative correlation between job duration and social isolation. It may be that employees who have lengthy job tenure establish friendships at work that protect them from feeling isolated even after the job is lost. Further research could clarify this point.

Although living on one's own was not significantly related to the total grief score, the positive correlations between that condition and despair and social isolation are consistent with other findings that social support mitigates the impact of job loss (Turner et al., 1991). Clients who lack social support may benefit from interventions such as networking and support groups that can help them reestablish their roles as members of a community.

Significant negative correlations were found between perceived job prospects and the Loss of Control and Depersonalization subscales. These observations suggest that employment counseling may be particularly beneficial for workers with low expectations of finding replacement jobs.

The results of this study suggest that grief can accompany involuntary job loss and may be influenced by a variety of factors. It is essential for career counselors to identify clients who are grieving and to be prepared to work with a wide range of grief responses. Understanding how workers' responses fit into their multiple roles and helping them integrate these roles in a diverse society and changing labor market present substantial challenges for counselors (Gysbers et al., 1998). Clients who have lost their jobs involuntarily may enter counseling feeling powerless to construct their future. The counselor should collaborate with job loss clients to reconstruct the meaning of the event within the context of their lives, relationships, and cultural environment (Neimeyer, 1998; Savickas, 1995).

TABLE 1 Comparison of Means and Standard Deviations of Job Loss Group
and Combined Bereavement Group for the Grief Experience Inventory

Variable             D     AH    G     SI    LC    R     DP    SM    DA

Job loss group
  M                 6.40  4.20  2.03  2.50  4.57  4.53  2.67  5.77  5.27
  SD                5.24  2.68  1.59  2.21  2.45  3.00  2.02  4.12  3.00
Combined bereave-
  ment group
  M                 6.72  3.97  1.60  2.37  4.84  4.81  4.39  6.05  5.28
  SD                4.68  2.44  1.60  1.68  2.19  2.49  2.29  3.85  2.34

Note. D = Despair; AH = Anger-Hostility; G = Guilt; SI = Social
Isolation; LC = Loss of Control; R = Rumination; DP = Depersonalization;
SM = Somatization; and DA = Death Anxiety.

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Janice O. Brewington, Employment Security Commission of North Carolina, Concord Local Office; Sylvia C. Nassar-McMillan, Department of Educational Research, Leadership, and Counselor Education, North Carolina State University; Claudia P. Flowers, Department of Education Leadership, and Susan R. Furr, Department of Counseling, both at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Janice O. Brewington, 675 Sylvan Street, Concord, NC 28025 (e-mail: [e-mail]).