Funeral services play an important role in people’s lives. They enable families to effectively conduct end-of-life rituals to their families, thus enabling them to grieve well for the loss of their loved ones. In different parts of the world, funeral homes enable families to perform these death rites while providing them with social support (Adu et al., 2023). Some common services that families can receive in funeral home establishments include memorial services, cremations, funeral arrangements, and viewings. In the United States, the funeral industry is overseen by state governments through different regulations that seek to ensure that they observe cultural sensitivities and uphold ethical standards while meeting the legal framework surrounding bereavement and death. According to Marsh (2018), the funeral home industry has evolved in over the centuries within the country. During the times of the European settlement in the United States, funeral services were a non-commercial activity involving the bereaved families only.
Over the years, the industry has undergone rapid evolution as funeral services have become more popular and thus attracted commercialization. By 2018, there were 19,322 funeral homes in the United States (Marsh, 2018). This implies that the industry has attracted significant proprietorship over the years. With time, funeral homes have become large corporate entities that seek to offer family-centered services such as casketing, burial remain prevalent, and embalming. Therefore, as families seek to offer a befitting send-off to their loved ones., they seek the services of these entities. As a result, the industry has significantly grown over time while also responding to the current trends and technologies in cremation, buiand al, among other services. Beard and Burger (2020) note that while the industry is booming, it is facing a legitimation crisis. As a result, the researchers advise business people within this industry to respond to the market changes and the shifting consumer behavior by creating a feeling of goodwill among them. This will increase the usage of these funeral home services and foster loyalty from families.
In the US funeral home industry, funeral directors manage most of the activities and services offered to families/. Together with their mortuary staff members, they coordinate services, counsel bereaved families, and facilitate all the activities and processes during the funeral (Cho, 2020). In addition, they prepare remains, manage logistics, enable families to organize their funeral days effectively and facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks. Kalweit et al. (2020) further note that funeral directors prepare demographic information about the death to facilitate the generation of death certificates. Therefore, their presence within the industry is crucial.
Despite their critical role in the United States, funerals face significant challenges that affect their operational efficiency and functions. These are mainly occupational hazards relating to workplace safety stress and operational challenges. In addition, workers within the funeral homes experience emotional stressors associated with consoling bereaved families and handling human remains. These aspects may expose them to mental health issues such as stress, trauma, and depression. Physical injuries are also inevitable in funeral homes. Funeral directors and staff may engage in physical activities such as lifting heavy objects. Such activities may expose them to injury and fatigue. In addition, exposure to mortuary chemicals used in embalming may pose significant health hazards among the staff. Other work safety concerns include trips and slips, strains., and falls. Such safety concerns may result in significant injury, temporary and permanent disability, and death.
Another major concern, according to Guidetti et al. (2021), is occupational burnout. Funeral directors and staff experience this problem as a result of incivility at work, excessive strains from doing repetitive work, and the lack of work meaningfulness. The result of this concern, according to Guidetti et al. (2021), is that these personnel will develop mental health issues, as indicated above. During the COVID-19 pandemic, exposure to occupational burnout was imminent. Considering the high number of deaths associated with the pandemic, there were health risks exposure among the funeral homes (O’Keeffe, 2020). In addition, the workload was significant, leading to overworking of these people.
Understanding the nature of work safety concerns affecting the funeral home industry in the United States is of great importance. While it is a way to sensitize staff and all the stakeholders within the industry to take safety precautions, it provides a leeway for policy development towards implementing safety protocols that guarantee the safety of these staff. In addition, understanding these concerns will facilitate effective training of funeral directors and staff, alongside formulation and implementation of regulatory measures that will porrect them and promote occupational safety, health, and well-being.
References
Adu, A. A., Bunga, B. N., Liem, A., & Kiling, I. Y. (2023). Death, Funeral Rituals, and Stigma:
Perspectives from Mortuary Workers and Bereaved Families. Pastoral Psychology, 72(2), 305-316.
Beard, V. R., & Burger, W. C. (2020). Selling in a dying business: An analysis of trends during a
period of major market transition in the funeral industry. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 80(4), 544-567.
Cho, C. J. (2020). The Work of the Funeral Director: Emotional Labor, Family, and Friends.
Guidetti, G., Grandi, A., Converso, D., Bosco, N., Fantinelli, S., Zito, M., & Colombo, L. (2021).
Funeral and mortuary operators: the role of stigma, incivility, work meaningfulness and work–family relation to explain occupational burnout. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13), 6691.
Kalweit, A., Clark, M., & Ishcomer-Aazami, J. (2020). Determinants of racial misclassification in
COVID-19 mortality data: the role of funeral directors and social context. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 44(3), 15-36.
Marsh, T. D. (2018). Regulated to death: Occupational licensing and the demise of the US Funeral
Services Industry. Wake Forest JL & Pol’y, 8, 5.
O’Keeffe, J. (2020). Death care during the COVID-19 pandemic: understanding the public health
risks. Environmental Health Review, 63(2), 40-47.
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