Funeral Home Workers

In firms employing two or more licensees, funeral workers generally have a set schedule of eight-hour days, five or six days a week. However, because services may be needed at any hour of the day or night, shifts are usually arranged so that someone is always available at night and on weekends.

In smaller firms, employees generally work long hours at odd times and often remain on call and within a short distance of the funeral home. Some may work in shifts, such as all days one week and all nights the next. Occasionally, overtime may be necessary.

Employees who transport bodies and accompany the funeral procession to the cemetery are frequently required to lift heavy weights and to be outdoors in inclement weather. Sometimes directors and embalmers must handle the remains of those who have died of contagious diseases, though the risk of infection, given the strict sanitary conditions required in all funeral homes, is minimal.

In this field, much of workers' time is spent trying to help families work through their grief. Because they are exposed daily to such intense emotion, as well as death and sometimes unpleasant or upsetting sights, there is the chance that the work may be depressing or emotionally draining. Employees need to be aware of that possibility and be able to approach situations philosophically and with a clear head.

Many who enter this field find that their occupation can be very rewarding because the work they do may help the family and friends of the deceased adjust at a time when they are greatly stressed by grief. They help provide an essential social service and one that, when well done, brings comfort and satisfaction.