The Living among the Dead: A Phenomenological Study of Cemetery Workers’ Mental Health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52053/jpap.v6i2.386Keywords:
Cemetery Workers, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Fear of Death, Lived Experience, SpiritualityAbstract
The study aims to examine the way cemetery workers make sense of their experiences at cemeteries and what strategies they incorporate in dealing with the everyday deaths of people. Semi-structured interviews with three cemetery workers (N=3) were conducted to explore and understand these workers' intrapsychic and external experiences. The audio interviews were recorded and transcription was done to provide the verbatim for thick and rich description of the phenomena. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach was used to analyze the data. The analysis generated themes i.e., workplace problems, fear of death, spirituality, coping with fear, relating with the deceased, and uncanny religious and meaningful experiences. There were some over-arching negative emotional features like depression, anxiety, and fear observed in the participants. However, they seemed to use emotion focused strategies in a direct or indirect way to cope i.e., uncanny experiences that are meaningful, escape, support of colleagues, spirituality, and humor. The study concluded that while the cemetery workers incorporated religious coping to deal with their stressors, they were susceptible to mental health issues as they oscillated between anxious and depressive features, hence, requiring psychological assistance. The study encourages to understand how cemetery workers experience the everyday burying of the dead; whether they are desensitized towards their job, as commonly understood, or it is a continued battle for them, and if so, then attention should be drawn towards their need for psychological interventions.
References
Ai, A. L., Tice, T. N., Huang, B., Rodgers, W., & Bolling, S. F. (2008). Types of prayer, optimism, and well-being of middle-aged and older patients undergoing open-heart surgery. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 11(1), 131-150. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13674670701324798
Alase, A. (2017). The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA): A guide to a good qualitative research approach. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 5(2), 9-19. doi:10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.5n.2p.9
Ano, G. G., & Vasconcelles, E. B. (2005). Religious coping and psychological adjustment to stress: A meta analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61(4), 461-480. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20049
Arena, A. F. A. (2020). Authenticity and the non-defensive, growth-oriented processing of death awareness (Doctoral dissertation, University of Sydney). https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/23403
Argentero, P., & Setti, I. (2008). Job perception, work conditions and burnout in emergency workers. Giornale italiano di medicina del lavoro ed ergonomia, 30(1 Suppl A), A64-70. https://europepmc.org/article/med/18700479
Bailey, M. E. (2019). How funeral directors experience burnout: A phenomenological study (Doctoral dissertation, Grand Canyon University). https://www.proquest.com/docview/2208314170?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true
Batista, A. S., & Codo, W. (2018). Dirty Work and Stigma. Caretakers of Death in Cemeteries. Revista de Estudios Sociales, (63), 72-83. https://journals.openedition.org/revestudsoc/1263#tocto1n5
Beck, C. T. (2011). Secondary traumatic stress in nurses: A systematic review. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 25(1), 1-10. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0883941710000580
Bride, B. E., Robinson, M. M., Yegidis, B., & Figley, C. R. (2004). Development and validation of the secondary traumatic stress scale. Research on Social Work Practice, 14(1), 27-35. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1049731503254106
Buda, D. (2019). The Gravediggers: Attempt to an Anthropological Approach based on own Experiences. Revista Transilvania, (8), 86-90.
Campbell, H. (2022). All the Living and the Dead: A Personal Investigation Into the Death Trade. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Carver, C. S., & Connor-Smith, J. (2010). Personality and coping. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 679-704. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100352
Cieslak, R., Shoji, K., Douglas, A., Melville, E., Luszczynska, A., & Benight, C. C. (2014). A meta-analysis of the relationship between job burnout and secondary traumatic stress among workers with indirect exposure to trauma. Psychological Services, 11(1), 75. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0033798
Climb (2022). What Does a Cemetery Caretaker Do? https://climbtheladder.com/cemetery-caretaker/
Davies, D. J. (1997). Death, Ritual and Belief. London: Continuum.
Dawis, R.V., & Lofquist, L.H. (1984). A psychological theory of work adjustment. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=3759581
Dewe, P. J., O’Driscoll, M. P., & Cooper, C. L. (2012). Theories of psychological stress at work. Handbook of occupational health and wellness, 23-38. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4614-4839-6_2
Eatough, V., & Smith, J. A. (2017). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. The Sage handbook of qualitative research in psychology, 193-209. https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/16386
Figley, C. R. (2013). Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. Routledge.
Freud, S. (1920). Beyond the pleasure principle. New York. https://www.libraryofsocialscience.com/assets/pdf/freud_beyond_the_pleasure_principle.pdf
Ganster, D. C., & Schaubroeck, J. (1991). Work stress and employee health. Journal of Management, 17(2), 235-271. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/014920639101700202
Gorer, G. (1965). Death, grief, and mourning. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
Grzywacz, J. G., & Marks, N. F. (2000). Reconceptualizing the work–family interface: An ecological perspective on the correlates of positive and negative spillover between work and family. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5(1), 111. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1999-15533-010
Hochschild, A. (1983). Comment on Kemper's" Social Constructionist and Positivist Approaches to the Sociology of Emotions". American Journal of Sociology, 89(2), 432-434. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/227874?journalCode=ajs
Hoelterhoff, M. (2015). A theoretical exploration of death anxiety. Journal of Applied Psychology and Social Science, 1(2), 1-17. https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/2208/
Holroyd, K.A., & Lazarus, R.S. (1982). Stress, coping, and somatic adaptation. In L. Goldberger & S. Breznitz (Eds.). Handbook of stress (pp. 21–35). New York: Free Press. https://doi.org/ 10.12691/ajphr-6-2-10
Hven, L., Frost, P., & Bonde, J. P. E. (2017). Evaluation of pressure pain threshold as a measure of perceived stress and high job strain. PLoS One, 12(1), e0167257. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0167257
Jourdain, G., & Chênevert, D. (2010). Job demands–resources, burnout and intention to leave the nursing profession: A questionnaire survey. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 47(6), 709-722. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0020748909003630
Kahn, R.L. & Byosiere, P. (1992) Stress in organizations. In M.D. Dunnette & L.M. Haugh (eds) Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2nd ed., vol. 3. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, pp. 571–650. https://cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1571417125360104704
Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R. P., Snoek, J. D. & Rosenthal, R. A. (1964). Organizational Stress: Studies in Role Conflict and Ambiguity. New York: Wiley.
Kalish R. A., & Reynolds, D. K. (1976). Death and ethnicity: A psychocultural study. Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern California Press.
Koenig, H. G., Kvale, J. N., & Ferrel, C. (1988). Religion and well-being in later life. The Gerontologist, 28(1), 18-28. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/28.1.18
Larkin, M., & Thompson, A. R. (2011). Interpretative phenomenological analysis in mental health and psychotherapy research. Qualitative research methods in mental health and psychotherapy: A guide for students and practitioners, 99-116. DOI:10.1002/9781119973249
Lazarus, R. S. (2001). Relational meaning and discrete emotions. In K. R. Scherer, A. Schorr, & T. Johnstone (Eds.), Appraisal processes in emotion: Theory, methods, research (pp. 37–67). Oxford University Press. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2001-06810-003
Lazarus, R. S., Cohen-Charash, Y., Payne, R., & Cooper, C. (2001). Discrete emotions in organizational life. Emotions at work: Theory, research and applications for management, 4584, 45-85.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer publishing company. https://depts.washington.edu/mbwc/content/page-files/Wellness_Weds_talk_2-3-21.pdf
Lehto, R., & Stein, K. F. (2009). Death anxiety: An analysis of an evolving concept. Springer Publishing Connect. DOI: 10.1891/1541-6577.23.1.23
Lewin, K. (1935). A dynamic theory of personality. New York: McGraw-Hill. https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.130
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE Publications, Naturalistic inquiry.
Marris, P. (1958). Widows and their families. London: Routledge & Paul.
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2000). The truth about burnout: How organizations cause personal stress and what to do about it. John Wiley & Sons. https://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Burnout-Organizations-Personal/dp/0787908746
Maynard, E., Gorsuch, R., & Bjorck, J. (2001). Religious coping style, concept of God, and personal religious variables in threat, loss, and challenge situations. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40(1), 65-74. https://doi.org/10.1111/0021-8294.00038
McCann, I. L., & Pearlman, L. A. (1990). Vicarious traumatization: A framework for understanding the psychological effects of working with victims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 3, 131-149. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00975140
McLachlan, M. A. (2010). Digging Deep: Investigating Transcendent and Immanent Coping Strategies–Against Other Peoples Grief–in Crematoria and Cemetery Workers from the UK. unpublished Masters Dissertation, University of Winchester. https://www.iccm-uk.com/iccm/wp-content/library/iccm_DiggingDeep.pdf
Mikulincer, M., Florian, V., & Tolmacz, R. (1990). Attachment styles and fear of personal death: A case study of affect regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(2), 273. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=a182d44555e0823b180359ba31d62e28fb703603
Murray, H.A. (1938). Explorations in personality. New York: Oxford Univer. Press. https://archive.org/details/explorationsinpe031973mbp
Mzamo, S. C. (2005). Understanding work related stress and substance use among cemetery workers of the eThekwini Municipality (Doctoral dissertation). https://ukzn-dspace.ukzn.ac.za/handle/10413/2791
Palm, K. M., Polusny, M. A., & Follette, V. M. (2004). Vicarious traumatization: Potential hazards and interventions for disaster and trauma workers. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 19(1), 73-78. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X00001503
Panagiotoglou, D., Fancey, P., Keefe, J., & Martin-Matthews, A. (2017). Job satisfaction: Insights from home support care workers in three Canadian jurisdictions. Canadian Journal on Aging/La Revue Canadienne Du Vieillissement, 36(1), 1-14. DOI:10.1017/S0714980816000726
Pargament, K., Feuille, M., & Burdzy, D. (2011). The Brief RCOPE: Current psychometric status of a short measure of religious coping. Religions, 2(1), 51-76. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel2010051
Pargament, K.I., Ensing, D.S., Falgout, K., Olsen, H., Reilly, B., Van Haitsma, K., Warren, R. (1990). God help me: (1): Religious coping efforts as predictors of the outcomes to significant negative life events. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18(6), 793–824.
Parkes, C. M. (1970). Seeking and finding a lost object: Evidence from recent studies of the reaction to bereavement. Social Science and Medicine, 4, 187.
Petrillo, G. (1990). The distant mourner: An examination of the American gravedigger. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 20(2), 139-148. https://doi.org/10.2190/PB5X-5XBX-QEK0-B0QB
Pietkiewicz, I., & Smith, J. A. (2014). A practical guide to using interpretative phenomenological analysis in qualitative research psychology. Psychological Journal, 20(1), 7-14. DOI: 10.14691/CPPJ.20.1.7
Pinheiro, F., Fischer, F. M., & Cobianchi, C. J. (2012). Work of gravediggers and health. Work, 41(Supplement 1), 5819-5822. https://content.iospress.com/articles/work/wor0962
Rababa, M., Hayajneh, A. A., & Bani-Iss, W. (2021). Association of death anxiety with spiritual well-being and religious coping in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Religion and Health, 60, 50-63. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-020-01129-x
Reid, K., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2005). Exploring lived experience. The Psychologist, 18(1), 20-23. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-02203-005
Rippentrop, A. E., Altmaier, E. M., Chen, J. J., Found, E. M., & Keffala, V. J. (2005). The relationship between religion/spirituality and physical health, mental health, and pain in a chronic pain population. Pain, 116(3), 311-321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2005.05.008
Smith, J. A., Jarman, M., & Osborn, M. (1999). Doing interpretative phenomenological analysis. Qualitative Health Psychology: Theories and Methods, 1(1), 218-240. https://www.brown.uk.com/teaching/HEST5001/smith.pdf
Stark, R. (1996). Religion as context: Hellfire and delinquency one more time. Sociology of Religion, 57(2), 163-173. https://doi.org/10.2307/3711948
TeenVogue. (2022, October 5). Death As Life’s Work: What It’s Like to Be a Funeral Director or Gravedigger. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/all-the-living-and-the-dead-book
Tufail, L., Riaz, W., Rizvi, V., Imtiaz, S., & Qureshi, Z. (2023). Relationship and Prevalence of Death Anxiety and Religious Coping among Death Care Workers in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Medical & Health Sciences, 17(05), 475-475. https://www.pjmhsonline.com/index.php/pjmhs/article/view/5070
UrduPoint.com. (2019, December 12). Grave-Digger Narrates A Miraculous Story | Life Of A Gorkan In Pakistan [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMEJNXqgbm8
UrduPoint.com. (2022, January 29). Wo Pakistani Gorkan Jo 2 Lakh Qabrain Khodi Hain - Kya Purisrar Waqiat Hue? Janiye Grave Digger Se [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTKQmbkqRhg
Vishkin, A., & Tamir, M. (2020). Fear not: Religion and emotion regulation in coping with existential concerns. In The science of religion, spirituality, and existentialism (pp. 325-338). Academic Press. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128172049000238
Zapf, D., Seifert, C., Schmutte, B., Mertini, H., & Holz, M. (2001). Emotion work and job stressors and their effects on burnout. Psychology & Health, 16(5), 527-545. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08870440108405525
Zito, M., Emanuel, F., Molino, M., Cortese, C. G., Ghislieri, C., & Colombo, L. (2018). Turnover intentions in a call center: The role of emotional dissonance, job resources, and job satisfaction. PloS One, 13(2), e0192126. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0192126
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Shaftain Naseer, Ayesha Majeed, Saadia Zia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License (https://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-Commercial use, reproduction
and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the Journal website at (https://iprpk.com/ojs/index.php/jpap)
