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08 Sep 2022
by Dr Tania Johnston

Ways to support mental health and help prevent suicide

Ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day (10 September), Dr Tania Johnston outlines strategies that employers can incorporate into their workplace culture to help prevent suicide

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Suicide has been the leading cause of death for people in the UK of all genders between 20 and 34 years old for nearly a decade, according to the latest Office for National Statistics report

Rates of suicide for men are more than three times that of women, finds the Samaritans, and suicide is the number one cause of death for men under 50, according to the NHS England

The harm to mental health from suicide and crisis events extends to family, friends and colleagues, as well as police and paramedics, health care workers and mental health professionals who encounter them on a far-too-regular basis.  

Suicide is a complex issue, but what’s clear is the significant need for improved mental health and suicide prevention resources, especially in the workplace. 

What can organisations do to help prevent suicides and support employees after the death of a co-worker?

Not all suicides can be prevented, but employers can take action to help avert crises, support survivors and ensure at-risk employees don’t slip through the cracks. Here are a few strategies that employers can incorporate into their workplace culture. 

1. Foster a workplace culture where employees feel psychologically safe

Create a culture of psychological safety where colleagues feel comfortable speaking to each other about their problems (even when they may hurt work performance) and support each other during difficult times. 

Typically, for this to be successful, it has to start with leadership. Routine check-ins by managers show employees that they care, and give them a chance to share any concerns. They also give managers a chance to redirect employees to available support resources. 

Compile and regularly update a list of health and wellbeing benefits to make sure everyone on your team knows what’s available to them via the organisation, the local community and beyond.

Identify at-risk employees 

To ensure at-risk individuals are identified as early as possible, companies may want to invest in mental health awareness and suicide prevention training. Signs to look out for, as described by the World Health Organization, include:

  • talking about wanting to end their life or feeling hopeless and having no reason to live
  • expressing feelings of loneliness, loss of self-esteem or dwelling on problems
  • withdrawal from work and social time with colleagues, decrease in performance, difficulty completing tasks
  • changes in behaviour such as restlessness, irritability, impulsivity, impatience, recklessness, aggression
  • speaking about arranging end-of-life affairs such as making a will, or concrete plans for suicide
  • depressed mood, mentions of previous suicidal behaviour, bullying or harassment.

When you spot (or someone reports) any of the above behaviours, it’s vital to get the employee in question support. Keep in mind that as a manager or leader, your primary role is to listen and offer resources, not counsel or problem solve: this must be left to professionals and could in fact endanger your own wellbeing.

Most importantly, if a worker has attempted to or indicates that they plan to intentionally harm themselves, seek immediate help. Remove means and do not leave them alone. Here’s a list of urgent mental health resources from the NHS.

3. Build an action plan (and carry it out)

Design and implement a plan to help prevent suicide and to manage and communicate an employee's suicide or suicide attempt. This should be done in a way that protects that employee's privacy and personal information, but doesn't neglect addressing the event's impact on their colleagues. 

You'll also want to consider what resources to include for surviving colleagues in the short and longer-term – such as access to trained health workers and to mental health support services.

Finally, an effective action plan should incorporate proactive measures to prioritise mental health. This will also help your organisation address mental health-related business risks your company may be experiencing. Sometimes it’s easier to identify the business risks than the mental health issues behind them. Beyond the growing rates of presenteeism and turnover, which have been extensively linked to poor employee mental health, many seemingly innocuous issues are indicators of poor mental wellbeing in a workplace. 

Are people avoiding taking time off or staying late on a regular basis? This could be a sign of overworking and poor work-life balance. Do your workers make use of your mental health and wellbeing resources? While it might be easy to assume this means people don’t need the support, it’s more likely to be indicative of difficult-to-use or non-inclusive resources, which could leave your employees feeling unsupported. It could also be pointing to lingering stigmas your employees may perceive around seeking out mental health support, however helpful.

Mental health matters. Making it easy for your workers to take care of themselves and get support in a crisis could change lives for the better, and even help save them. 

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