Returning to Work Following Spousal Loss? The Experiences of Widowed Parents

Abstract

Families with children in the home who lose a parent to death are not only faced by bereavement but quite often a whole array of other changes. One area that has so far been overlooked in research is the return to work of the surviving parent. In this online survey of widowed parents, four out of five (81.6%, n=71) had experienced changes in their working or student conditions as a direct result of losing their partner. The experienced changes were mainly seen in relation to increased sick leave, reduced working hours, redundancy, and a change of jobs. Thematic analyses of participant responses to open-ended questions resulted in four different themes: Feeling overburdened, Grief as a process, Unaccommodating workplace, and Accommodating workplace. The results of this study highlight a need for focusing on the return to work of bereaved employees who have lost a co-parent.