Replication Data for: Reciprocal relations between job loss-related grief reactions and quality of job search behaviour: A cross-lagged analysis

Background. Sick-listed employees facing job loss must engage in job search activities during this uncertain period. This study examined temporal dynamics between anticipatory grief, post-loss grief, job search intensity, and job search quality among sick-listed employees facing job loss.

Methods. Using a five-wave longitudinal design, 421 Dutch sick-listed employees who lost their job or position during the study period were tracked. Cross-lagged panel analyses examined relationships between anticipatory grief, post-loss grief, job search intensity, and job search quality, controlling for employment status and health perception.

Results. Anticipatory grief reactions significantly predicted post-loss grief intensity. Job search intensity and quality demonstrated shifting bidirectional relationships across time points. Grief reactions showed primarily unidirectional effects: anticipatory grief negatively predicted job search quality, while post-loss grief unexpectedly enhanced job search intensity. Job search behaviours did not predict subsequent grief reactions.

Conclusion. This study establishes grief reactions as a distinct psychological barrier in return-to-work processes, with differential effects across loss phases suggesting that phase-specific support approaches may be needed.