Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, as part of Employee Wellness Week, we examine suicide prevention.
September is Suicide Prevention Month, which aims to raise awareness about mental health and encourage people affected by suicidal thoughts to get the help they need. Employers can provide workers with support and resources to lower the risk of suicide, but conversely, workplace factors can also increase suicide risk in some workers.
The suicide rate in the construction industry is particularly alarming, more than four times higher than the general population, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Earlier this month was Construction Suicide Prevention Week, which included a National Stand-Down minute of silence on September 9 to honor all lives lost to suicide.
Workplace risk factors
According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Science Blog, there are many factors that can adversely affect mental health and directly or indirectly impact suicidal thoughts, behaviors, and death.
These factors include:
- Low job security, low pay, and job stress
- Access to lethal means of committing suicide such as medications and firearms
- Long work hours or shift work
- Workplace bullying
In addition to construction, occupations that have high risks of suicide may include:
- Law enforcement officers
- Veterinarians
- Some healthcare workers
Many workplaces are engaged in improving worker mental health and well-being, but are reluctant to include suicide prevention in those efforts. Suicide prevention efforts will vary by industry, but general strategies recommended by the NIOSH blog include:
- Limiting access to lethal means
- Providing peer support
- Increasing access to mental health services
- Reducing stigma to encourage easier access to quality care
Resources
There are many suicide prevention resources available for workplaces. The U.S. Surgeon General in 2022 released a Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being that workplaces can use with strategies around five components:
- Protection from harm
- Work-life harmony
- Mattering at work
- Connection and community
- Opportunity for growth
Also in 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control released the Suicide Prevention Resource for Action, which provides strategies with the best available evidence to reduce suicide.
The Workplace Suicide Prevention and Postvention Committee, a group of collaborative and interdisciplinary partners, released a white paper in 2022 providing guidance and best practices to help employers support employees dealing with mental health issues. Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention in the Workplace details best practices for suicide prevention, intervention, crisis response, and postvention (response and activities after a suicide to facilitate healing, mitigate negative effects, and prevent suicide among those at high risk after exposure to a suicide).
Identifying and assisting workers at risk for suicide
According to the World Health Organization, employers and co-workers should watch for the following signs:
- Expression of thoughts or feelings about wanting to end their life
- Expression of feelings of isolation, loneliness, hopelessness, or loss of self-esteem
- Withdrawal from colleagues, decrease in work performance, or difficulty completing tasks
- Changes in behavior, such as restlessness, irritability, impulsivity, recklessness, or aggression
- Speaking about arranging end-of-life personal affairs such as making a will
- Abuse of alcohol or other substances
- Depressed mood or mentioning of previous suicidal behavior
- Bullying or harassment
- Particular attention should be given to people who are losing their job
If a co-worker is worried about a colleague, they can:
- Express empathy and concern, encourage them to talk, and listen without judgment.
- Ask if there are anyone they would like to call or have called.
- Encourage them to reach out to health or counseling services inside the organization, if available, or otherwise outside the organization, and offer to call or go there together.
- If they have attempted suicide or indicate they are about to intentionally harm themselves, remove access to means and do not leave them alone. Seek immediate support from health services.
Employers or managers can:
- Provide information sessions for your staff on mental health and suicide prevention.
- Ensure all staff know what resources are available for support.
- Foster a work environment in which colleagues feel comfortable talking about problems that have an impact on their ability to do their job effectively.
- Become familiar with relevant legislation.
- Identify and reduce work-related stressors that can negatively impact mental health.
- Design and implement a plan for how to sensitively manage and communicate the suicide or suicide attempt of an employee in a way that minimizes further distress.