Leadership & Management

Suicide Intervention

Problems at home and at work can contribute to a situation where an employee may resort to suicide. The information in this section is intended to help organizations be aware of the signs of suicidal tendencies to intervene where possible.

When an employee commits suicide, there are often overwhelming feelings of guilt and grief. Providing your employees with education and awareness about suicide cannot guarantee the elimination of such tragic events, but it can provide people with enough information to recognize that they did the best they could under the circumstances.

It is important to recognize that even when the person who died was not particularly close, people can have very strong reactions related to survivors' guilt. It can help if the organization acknowledges and launches a response if suicide touches their workplace.

Resources to address the issue of suicide prevention in your workplace are at the end of this section.

Tip and Strategies

1. Educate employees
    
2. How management can help
    
3. Develop a response in the event of suicide

1. Educate employees

• Find evidence-based awareness programs about suicide prevention to offer to your employees. (See resources below for some examples.)
   
• Make sure employees understand that they are not required to intervene if they are putting themselves at risk.
   
• Create a work environment in which co-workers care for and support each other.
   
• Provide training to help recognize mental health problems, include warning signs of suicide.
   
• Help to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness, substance abuse, suicidal behaviour and seeking help for such problems.
   
• Promote the development of interpersonal and social competency through training in stress management and coping skills to help individuals deal with problems.
   
• Promote listening and interpersonal skills to help individuals improve their relationships.
   
• Promote awareness that many suicides are preventable, make facts available about suicide, its risk factors and prevention approaches.
   
• Expand awareness of suicide-prevention programs and mental health and substance abuse disorder assessment and treatment.

2. How management can help

• Help managers be prepared and aware by providing them with specialized training such as the Living Works ASIST program.

3. Develop a response in the event of suicide

• If the suicide occurs at work, ensure that nothing is touched at the scene of the suicide and immediately contact the police.
   
• Provide prompt, accurate information to co-workers. Do not discuss details of the suicide.
   
• Give co-workers the option of attending the funeral/memorial service.
   
• Ensure that co-workers are managing their grief and provide help if they are not.
   
• If possible, determine if anything in the workplace may have been a factor in the suicide. Take steps to address those factors.

Suicide Intervention [PDF]

Resources

The following are links to resources that may be of interest to you. If you click on a link you may be entering a third party website not maintained or controlled in any way by Great-West Life.