CREMATON OPTIONS: CARING FOR CARETAKERS Part 2 of 2
RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY FOR CREMATION OPTIONS
The study assumed that mortuary college students who perceived life with purpose and perceived the engagement in funeral and cremation service work as being meaningful were better prepared for a lasting career in funeral service than students without purpose in life and meaningful work perceptions. Further implications of the above findings are summarized below.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MEANINGFUL WORK
The study reported that the experience of meaningful work was not tied exclusively to an external reward, such as pay, recognition or prominence. Factors such as increased pay, more job responsibilities and promotion have not consistently demonstrated an ability to foster perceived meaning in the workplace. Yet because meaning is so closely tied to mental well being, further research that promotes and accentuates higher meaning in the daily work of funeral service is warranted.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TRADITIONAL ORGANIZED RELIGION
The study suggested that multi faceted traditional religiosity in contrast to the generalized workplace spirituality touted by recent business studies, may also contribute significantly to the mental well being of funeral service professionals. Religious belief alone was not a sufficient predictor of both life purpose and meaningful work. However when belief was connected to the practice of religious activities and disciplines, both purpose in life and meaningful work perceptions were significantly affected. As such there appears to be an incentive for funeral service practitioners who already indentify with an organized traditional faith to seek opportunities that further support and solidify personal faith based initiatives.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FUNERAL AND CREMATION SERVICE EXPERIENCE
The study reported that students with more than three years of experience in the funeral service seemed to demonstrate higher perceptions of both purpose in life and the engagement in funeral service work as meaningful. The implications pointed to the importance of student exposure to heal time funeral service experiences. In order for funeral service educators to foster greater student perception of life purpose and meaningful work, the value of field education, as an essential component to curriculum requirements, may need further emphasis. The study seemed to have demonstrated a need for mortuary colleges to reassess the importance of field education as a possible means of reducing the reported levels of attrition as funeral service students enter the field following graduation.
CONCLUSION
What can be done to sustain the mental and emotional readiness of funeral professionals? While there may be no easy answers for sustained longevity in this profession, the Oxford study suggested the vitality of a healthy diet of purpose and meaning in both life and work to enhance a positive self concept, decrease receptivity to depression and increase ability to manage stress. For individuals who have courageously embraced the high calling of funeral and cremation services, there appears to be no substitute for perceiving a higher purpose in life as well as recognizing the true meaningfulness of the work that has often been labeled “the dismal trade.”