Catherine Mundy Ms. Hinnant English 1102 23 Feb.

2014 The Affects of Death on the Living If you were to walk into the Bass-Smith funeral home in Hickory, NC, the one located just off of highway127, you might be shocked by the culture within. This small community of workers makes up a larger community of people who take care of the deceased and their families. A few roles that are carried out in this funeral home consist of directors, embalmers, and administrators. This ethnography was intended to dig deeper into the lives of the workers. The main focus of this essay was to see how these employees job affects the staff while they are at work. In order for me to carry out these observations as efficiently as possible, the employees were under the impression that the notes were being taken on the day-to-day operations of the funeral home, and less on their behaviors. Tone of the Workplace As soon as an outsider would enter into Bass-Smith funeral home, they would notice the neutral colors surrounding them. Not only were the walls and carpets neutral, but even the clothes of the employees were in a darker tone. The men that were observed wore black pants, black shoes, a white shirt and a nice tie. The women in the office also dressed in a similar uniformblack pants, black skirts and neutral tops. The only colors visible were in the various flower arrangements sent from as condolences for funerals. Overall, the atmosphere of the color schemes made the environment serene, calm. The

atmosphere of the interior design was paralleled by the expression of the employees-equally calm and reserved. The workers' black shoes made little, if any, sounds; it was as if the steady clicking of high heels were an understood taboo. While being toured around, the clicking of my boots made a light tapping sound; however, in the quiet ambiance of the halls and workers, it sounded as if they were booming through the corridors. The overhead speakers were playing classical piano music playing quietly, which had an almost soothing effect. As a family walked in, no one had to be told to be quiet; it was an unspoken agreement between the families, the employees, and the environment. In the article Orchestrating Comfort: The Role of Funeral Directors, the authors Liam Hyland and Janice Morse focus on how the roles of funeral directors have changed over time which I found for the most part supported my thesis. When the authors state that choosing a casket for the deceased is the most painful decision for the persons loved ones, I thought back to a incident that happened as I was being toured around the Bass-Smith funeral home. The tour began with David, one of the embalmers, showing around the main areas of the building. As the tour moved into the casket room, he talked about the different kinds of caskets for a couple of minutes before a family entering the casket room took him by surprise. As the family entered, David at once stopped talking and stepped to the corner of the room and then quietly exited from the same door that he had entered through. Throughout the rest of the tour, David checked to make sure that he would not again be running into any more clients. This realization makes it clear that Bass-Smith employees know how delicate these situations are and they know how to show respect. This connection also leads to another point that these authors expressed in

their article. They talk about how funeral directors must remain controlled and remote. I liked their take on how funeral home directors comfort their clients. On the other hand, the authors argue that consoling families only includes technical assistance such as making sure the day runs smoothly and that the setting and funeral service go well. This is a major aspect of the job; however, I would have to slightly disagree. At Bass-Smith, the employees would go above and beyond to make sure all parts of the service were perfect but they would also comfort the clients by listening to them and by giving off a calming and sympathetic atmosphere. Even though a major part of their job is dealing with the technical stuff, funeral directors also have to master emotional issues and people that go along with the occupation. For example, the tour guide also spoke in a respectful quiet tone, loud enough to be heard, but a hushed voice nonetheless. Throughout the time spent at Bass-Smith, I came to the conclusion that their environment affects the workers. Even when there were no clients in the funeral home, the employees stilled used calm tones. The office was never loud with obnoxious laughter or songs. When the office was slow, the employees worked quietly and still kept up the calm atmosphere that was produced by the funeral home. From the way the employees acted, it was clear that their environment affected the way they acted within the funeral home. As David was speaking he backup this conclusion by telling me My actions are most definitely influenced by the funeral home, I know what a hard time my clients are going through and I wish to show them respect by giving them privacy and comfort. Unity How does a funeral home maintain such a wistful, ambiance even amidst the chaos of juggling almost nine clients at a time? I observed two different types of funereal

environments: a lazy Sunday evening and a hectic Sunday morning, during which three funerals occurred, and six more were to come. Seeing how the employees worked on such antithetical days gave me a fully developed picture of the funeral home. The slow day had at most three people in the office, on these days they had time to show the researcher around and make generous amounts of small talk. The fact that these employees had little to no work to get done was extremely noticeable. They answered phones, and made small talk between the employees. On the other hand, the busy day had six people working--including the owner of Bass-Smith Funeral Home. It was interesting to how different these two days went. Once there were multiple jobs to accomplish, it was evident how efficient the workers were. Kaye, the owner of BassSmith funeral home, arrived promptly at 8 in the morning ready to tackle work that seemed to be piling over. She entered the workplace and soon got to work labeling the number of funerals they had coming this week. All of the employees had a job and got to work as soon as they arrived. No one stood around or decided not to come into work that daythey knew that peoples families were depending on them to take care of their needs. Seeing the fact that more people, even the owner, were willing to come in when the office was overloaded with funerals lead me to believe that these people are hard workers that understand the importance of coming to work because of the role they play at the end of a persons life. Elaine McFarland believed that funeral home employees have a very, very rewarding job she understood the that these employees feel that they are helping people out at the most emotional, stressful time. After reading this statement, I realized how much it connects with the attitude of the people at Bass-Smith funeral home. It was not hard to tell that these employees love their job; they always

came in with a smile and were ready to help at a moments notice. No one had to tell me how much they valued their job and the reward they felt, it was all shown through their actions. The employees of Bass-Smith funeral home also showed a great deal of teamwork. They were all willing to help each other out on certain errands that needed to be complete. The office seemed to work well together even when it was overcrowded with multiple personals. Kaye offered to take a bouquet of flowers to a nearby church while one funeral director was meeting with a family and the other was filling out the paper work on the deceased clients. During Kayes interview, she mentioned, The office runs great because of my amazing staff and their ability to get things done without any animosity within the funeral home. Kayes view on how her funeral home runs was clearly shown throughout the hours of observations. The employees were always nice to each other and there was no gossiping about one coworker when he or she left the room. The day-to-day operations seemed to go smoothly without any major problems or disagreements. Compassion Seeing the difference in staff size made me believe that the workers are willing to come to work if the office is burdened with errands to run and missions to accomplish. The fact that the owner came in on a Sunday to help out as much as possible gave off the impression that she really cares about not only her job, but also her employees and clients. As soon as Kaye walked in the door she began to label the paperwork on her clients in the order that they were admitted to the funeral home. As she was numbering, she came across two people who came in on the same day. Surprisingly, she remembered

who came in first and continued to count accordingly. The fact that she remembered the exact order of admittance reveals the level of attention she gives her work. It also reveals her level of mental accuracy, as this would have happened over a week ago. As people would come in, anyone would be able to tell who is an employee and who is a client. The air that these workers gave off to their clients is a perfect attitude for their occupations. They somehow mastered the art of compassion mixed with an apologetic demeanor; however, they did not come off as patronizing. Laura Bennet-Kimble relates to this argument in her article as she talks about her experience working in a funeral home in her early 20s. For example, the author talks about the fact that she was well-equipped to work in a funeral home because she possessed honest sympathy and emotional distance which are two important characteristics to have in this industry. The employees at Bass-Smith would completely agree with this statement. They showed me how important it was to listen and have real empathy for their clients while they would talk with them if they were having a problem or if something went wrong. On the other hand, the workers would do an excellent job of not getting emotionally attached to the families. At Bass-Smith, the workers never lost their calmness, or had a temper. The air of the office was peaceful and it never once gave off a sad ambiance. What Laura and the reader learn at the end of this article was that it takes a special person to work in this type of setting. Funeral home employees do not have it easy, you have to have certain characteristics in order to take on their responsibilities; therefore, it make sense that In my interview with David he mentioned that: It is hard to find the line between feeling apologetic toward your clients but also having to be the rock they can lean on which requires you to be emotionally detached from the situation.

As the employees answered the phone, their conversations would be filled with yes maams or sirs. The phrase whatever works best for you was also used many times. You could tell just though their phone conversations that they were willing to work with the clients and see that whatever they need or want is done. David opened and closed doors for me in addition to having good manners such as saying excuse me or thank you. To go more in depth, a light conversation with David started about operations in the funeral home then I turned the subject deeper, which was about my uncle who had just passed away. There was an immediate change in his demeanor. His facial expressions became more focused on what was being said which made it seem like he was intently listening to what I was saying. He let me speak and added in comments where they were necessary. How he reacted to the story would make anyone feel extremely comfortable while speaking with him. Throughout the observations, it was shown multiple times that because these employees work with delicate people, compassion is shown throughout the hours of note taking. For example, a woman came in during the observation period and talked about how her daughter in law took an envelope that belonged to her. The worker that was speaking with her kept a calm emotionally detached air about him but was understanding and sympathic at the same time. He told her that he was extremely sorry and that he wished he could have done something to stop the other woman. This profession has taught the workers to stay emotionally neutral in these types of situations but at the same time come off as having concern and support in their voice and actions. Within the hours of note taking, it was clear that the workers at Bass-Smith funeral home had mastered this art and that their environment only strengthen this characteristic.

Attention to Detail The employees at the funeral home are extremely meticulous about the appearance of their facility, as well as the records that are kept on file. As David was showing me around, he was precautious with the record books and began to describe in detail why and how these records are so important. Anyone would be able to sense the amount of care and work that has gone into keeping up with all of the information the books possess. The owner also put in tons of work to keep her company organized. For example, when Kaye was on her way to take flowers to a church, she noticed a bunch of cigarette butts lying on the ground. She kind of shook her head in a disagreeing fashion and proceeded to pick up the ones around. She then disappeared into the building and emerged with a scooper and a trash can. Not only did she clean the trash out of the road, but she also picked it up out of the sand container and threw it in a wastebasket. This small deed made me realize how much effort this lady puts in to keep the place looking nice. Another example of her meticulousness occurred during the set-up for a viewing in the home. She went through all of the rooms and made sure each one was perfectly in order; she emptied the trash, and added or removed furniture from the room. Her consideration relays that she wants these families to be as comfortable as they possibly can. The fact that Kaye took time out of her day to pick up trash that was strewn about or fix the chairs in the viewing room seems like she cares about how her organization is ran and how people respond to her company. If she was more interested in the money, she would not pay attention to the appearance of her facility, just more about accumulating money.

During Davids interview he stated: I used to work for another funeral home company. It was like the Wal-Mart of funeral homes. All they cared about was the money, the families were just another number to them. I asked him what he thought about Bass-Smith and re replied: Kaye is great and I love working here because honestly my workers and myself are more concerned with the families that come through and less about money. The fact that their clients comfort and happiness means the most to the workers can be seen through their work ethic and attention to detail. The fact that the employees have to deal with families of recently deceased people makes their meticulousness in the workplace important because they are dealing with a concept that no matter who you are in the worldyou take it seriously. While reading Tara Baileys article, I thought of how this quote connects with this authors thoughts. Tara Baileys main purpose of this article is to unearth the question that millions of people wonder aboutDo funeral directors really care for their clients? She first starts out her article by considering emotional labour. This concept argues that emotions are under the control of social feeling rules such as you must be sad at a funeral and are reached by acting. In relation to Bass-Smith Funeral Home, I find emotional labour to be completely off base. During the interview process with an employee, the funeral director talked about how much he liked the fact that this company actually cares for their clients. As Baileys research deepened; however, she soon realized that her initial opinion was not absolute. Within her interviews she finds that the participants are caring and have a desire for the clients to feel comfortable. Bailey found that the employees actually hated bringing up the discussion of money more than the families did. This realization was not surprising; the employees actions at Bass-Smith relayed the same message to their

clients. Anyone who happened to walk into that certain funeral home would be able to tell that they treated their clients with respect. Lighthearted Even though the employees work in an environment where most people connect it with unhappiness and misery, the workers seemed to always keep a positive and light attitude. While the office had a slow day, the employees would joke with each other and keep the conversations light. When David gave his tour, he preceded to tell me about the last kid who also was touring the funeral home for his senior project. In the middle of his tour, the employee jokingly asked if he wanted to hop in the back of the hearse and try it out. As David began to laugh, he explained how mortified the kid looked until he realized that the question was a huge joke. Wallace Chans article, which focuses on a study conducted in Hong Kong that was carried out on death workers to find out what they considered the most important aspect while working with grief. What the workers answered was surprising because it connected well with what was witnessed at BassSmith Funeral Home. Chans article opened my eyes to the fact that death is a universal concept, it does not matter where you are in the worldpeople deal with death in similar ways. The fact that over half of the participants agreed that self-competence was the most important resource while dealing with death did not come as a shock. This category consisted of calmness sense of humor and willingness to collaborate with others. At Bass-Smith Funeral Home, it was evident that the workers valued these attributes. They knew how important it was to be self-aware of their environment and what was expected out of them. The employees at Bass-Smith played on the humor aspect many times throughout the day in the office. In order to lighten the mood, the workers would

often have playful tones with each other. While I was observing in the office, I told the employees to go on about their daily ways and the funeral director jokingly said to me Well we would normally just talk about what we want for lunch. His light tones helped the atmosphere of the funeral home to stay positive and it also gave the building the calming air it had. The funeral home is like any other type of office; they keep conversations playful yet they know when to get down to business. David would also slide in a good-natured joke while he was giving the tour which lead me to believe that working at Bass-Smith funeral home calls for the workers to acquire and exercise their teasing side while they are not around clients. In Davids interview he stated that: I usually keep a light tone with my coworkers because it is necessary to not let the atmosphere get you down. This particular quote backed up my thought on why the people deemed it vital to keep up playful banter between coworkers while they worked. Being employed at Bass-Smith funeral home, the workers strive to keep a light demeanor while talking to each other in order to counteract the negative vibes being emitted by the clients. Conclusion Throughout these observations and interviews with the workers of Bass-Smith funeral home, I have concluded that the environment these people work in affects the way they communicate and act within the confines of the building. Their surroundings not only affected the way they spoke or acted around their clients, but it also positively affected the way they seemed to act around each other. While researching this certain topic, I came across McFarlands article which reinforced my main argument in my ethnography. Now that people are more accepting of death and saying good-bye to a

loved one, they are also realizing that there is more to the people working behind the curtain. A quote from an interviewee that caught my eye stated: So it's nice the job, it's actually a very, very rewarding job because I always feel that you are helping people out at the most emotional, stressful time, when they have lost their mother or father, or even a child. After reading this statement, I realized how much it connects with the attitude of the people at Bass-Smith funeral home. It was not hard to tell that these employees love their job; they always came in with a smile and were ready to help at a moments notice. No one had to tell me how much they valued their job and the reward they felt, it was all shown through their actions. With that being said it was interesting to read that these workers have fought to get past the title 'custodian of the dead' to 'compassionate professional.