Dying to Work: A Thematic Analysis of How Near-Death Experiences Affect Employees’ Work Lives

Jamie A. Gruman & Andrew Binns

Journal of Management Spirituality and Religion2025https://doi.org/10.51327/ukwd3742article
AJG 1ABDC C
Weight
0.37

What the paper says

Near-death experiences (NDEs) refer to the experiences people have when they are close to death as a result of medical emergencies or accidents (Kelly et al., 2007). Such experiences often have life-changing effects referred to as aftereffects. However, there is virtually no research on NDE aftereffects in the context of work. In the present study, we interviewed 14 working adults to explore how an NDE affected their work lives. Using thematic analysis, we categorized the interview data into six themes: insights and new realizations, personal transformations, reprioritization of work, job changes, motivation, and changed relationships. These themes offer conceptual and practical insights into the factors that promote thriving careers, which apply to those who have had NDEs and, importantly, also those who have not. Recommendations for future research are proposed.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.51327/ukwd3742

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@article{jamie2025,
  title        = {{Dying to Work: A Thematic Analysis of How Near-Death Experiences Affect Employees’ Work Lives}},
  author       = {Jamie A. Gruman & Andrew Binns},
  journal      = {Journal of Management Spirituality and Religion},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.51327/ukwd3742},
}

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Evidence weight

0.37

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.16 × 0.4 = 0.06
M · momentum0.53 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.