Bereavement and reactions to job loss: a comparative review

An assessment is made of the applicability of the grief framework for understanding reactions to job loss. Jahoda's 'deprivation view' of unemployment is introduced as a statement of what is lost, with the grief model describing the process of adjustment to loss. The main features of grief are described: it is an active process, changing over time, consisting of a number of episodic components combined with a background of chronic emotional disturbance. Parkes' concept of psychosocial transitions is then outlined; this provides a theoretical link between grieving and reactions to other forms of loss, including job loss. An assessment is made of how the grief process has been applied to job loss in existing research. Evidence for most of the components of the grief process is apparent in accounts of reactions to unemployment, but there is little evidence on their frequency, changes over time or their relationship to one another. Variables which are likely to affect the occurrence, extent and precise course of any grief-like process are examined by comparing reactions to bereavement and job loss. The family and social contexts of reactions to loss are then considered in relation to both grief and unemployment. Finally, the advantages and limitations of the grief model are briefly discussed.