Complicated grief following job loss: The protective role of resilience and the risk role of work-centrality

Abstract

It is known that job loss can be challenging for individuals as it has been proved to lead to decreased mental health. Specifically, job loss has been associated with complicated grief too. As these findings are new, little is known about the protective and the risk factors which are related to the development of complicated grief following job loss. This study aims to enrich the scientific field and contribute to the insight for covering the gap in the existing literature by exploring the relation between complicated grief following job loss (JLCG), resilience, and work-centrality. Resilience was predicted to have a negative relationship with JLCG, as it has mainly been described as a protective factor against adversity, whereas work-centrality was expected to have a positive relationship with JLCG as it refers to people with part of their identities connected to work. A third hypothesis tested the moderation role of resilience in the relation between the work-centrality and JLCG symptoms, expecting to show the effect of resilience as a protective factor to the relationship of the other two variables. The final sample consisted of 95 Greek participants. The first two hypotheses were tested with linear regression and found to be significant whereas the moderation analysis of the third hypothesis wasn’t confirmed. Current findings contribute to the effective spotting of vulnerability after a job loss and to the implications of adequate interventions and effective treatments for JLCG symptoms.