Specific job demands and resources of funeral workers and directors in Germany: A varied job in a micro-company setting that involves on-call work, trauma, and entrepreneurship

General recommendations for the risk assessment of mental stress often fail to take into account well-founded sector-specific demands and resources. The purpose of the present study was to analyze and identify the common and specific job demands and resources of funeral service professionals (FSP). Data were collected through a self-report questionnaire involving FSP (N = 539) from funeral agencies in Germany. Quantitative analyses using multiple linear regressions were conducted for employees and entrepreneurs. On-call work (β = .11–.13), skill discretion (β = −0.11– −0.17), psychological work demands (β = .21–.34), social climate (β = −0.15– −0.22), surface acting (β = .17–.23), and a traumatic event in the past (β = .10–.17) were found to be significant predictors of strain outcomes amongst FSP. Entrepreneurial uncertainty and staff shortages were additionally found to be incremental predictors of strain outcomes amongst entrepreneurs (ΔR2 = .10–.16). The results of the study yielded various industry-specific starting points for prevention measures. In particular, adjusting demands and finding ways of dealing with traumatic events are useful approaches for maintaining the mental health of FSP.