Making Suicide Prevention a Health and Safety Priority at Work
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| Photo by Patrick Lenz |
Denver,
Colorado. July 6, 2016. When the CDC released its report on occupation and
suicide last week, many employers took notice. For the first time, researchers
were able to rank industries by highest rank and largest numbers of deaths by
suicide across 17 states. This milestone report immediately got the attention
of industry leaders concerned about the health and safety of their employees.
The Carson J Spencer Foundation, the nation’s leader in suicide prevention in
the workplace, fielded scores of inquiries over the holiday weekend as
companies requested information on how to build a zero suicide safety culture
in their workplaces and associations. For more information www.WorkingMinds.org.
Two issues tend to make industries more at
risk – the demographics of the workforce and the nature of the work itself. Workforces that are male dominated tend to have higher rates for suicide
because men die by suicide at nearly four times the rate of women and represent
77.9% of all suicides (CDC, 2015). Additionally industries that have
the following qualities also tend to have higher risk for suicide:
- Access to lethal means (e.g., firearms, pills, high places)
- Ethos of fearlessness, recklessness and/or stoicism
- Exposed to trauma
- Culture of substance abuse
- Fragmented community or isolation
- Humiliation or shame
- Sense purposelessness
- Entrapment (feeling trapped in a distressing work situation)
“
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| Photo by Brandon Kish |
The timing of the report release coincided with the conclusion of the
Construction Financial Management Association annual conference in San Antonio
where suicide prevention was a central focal point. Over the past nine months
many new construction industry suicide prevention resources and publications
emerged as the construction leaders started to acknowledge a growing concern.
More information here: www.ConstructionWorkingMinds.org.
“Increasingly, we are hearing employers say, ‘Not another life to lose.
What can I do to prevent this from happening with my employees?’” said
Spencer-Thomas. “They want a road map to integrate psychological safety into
their existing safety culture.”
Because most adults spend more waking hours at work than they do at home,
workplaces are critical partners in a community approach to suicide prevention.
Employers who value the well-being of their staff realize that it is not good
enough to get people home safely from work, they also need to provide support
in making sure employees get back to work safely from home. Like most cultural
change, a multi-dimensional, long-term strategy is warranted integrating mental
health services, training, communication strategies, leadership, and crisis
response.
- Full CDC report here http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6525a1.htm.
- The National Action
Alliance for Suicide Prevention response here: http://actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org/sites/actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org/files/CDCResponse.pdf
Occupational
Rank for Highest Rates of Suicide Deaths[i]
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RANK
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Occupation
|
Rate per 100,000
|
1
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Farming,
fishing, and forestry
|
84.5
|
2
|
Construction
and extraction
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53.3
|
3
|
Installation,
maintenance, and repair
|
47.9
|
4
|
Production
|
34.5
|
5
|
Architecture
and engineering
|
32.2
|
6
|
Protective
service
|
30.5
|
7
|
Arts,
design, entertainment, sports, and media
|
24.3
|
8
|
Computer
and mathematical
|
23.3
|
9
|
Transportation
and material moving
|
22.3
|
10
|
Management
|
20.3
|
Occupational Rank for Highest
Numbers of Suicide Deaths[ii]
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RANK
|
Occupational Group
|
Numbers (%)
|
1
|
Construction and extraction
|
1,324 (10.8)
|
2
|
Management
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1,049 (8.5)
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3
|
Production
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953 (7.7)
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4
|
Installation, maintenance, and repair
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780 (6.3)
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5
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Unknown
|
729 (5.9)
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6
|
Student
|
665 (5.4)
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7
|
Sales and related
|
651 (5.3)
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8
|
Transportation and material moving
|
644 (5.2)
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9
|
Homemaker, Housewife
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534 (4.3)
|
10
|
Office and administrative support
|
481 (3.9)
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About the Carson J Spencer Foundation - Sustaining a Passion for Living
The Carson J Spencer Foundation (www.CarsonJSpencer.org) is a Colorado
nonprofit, established in 2005. We
envision a world where leaders and communities are committed to sustaining a
passion for living. As leaders in innovation in suicide prevention, our mission
is to elevate the conversation to make suicide prevention a health and safety
priority. We do this by:
- Delivering innovative and
effective suicide prevention programs for working-aged people
- Coaching young leaders to develop
social enterprises for mental health promotion and suicide prevention
- Supporting people bereaved by suicide
About the Working Minds™ Program
Working
Minds™ (www.WorkingMinds.org) is the
nation’s first suicide prevention program exclusively dedicated to the
workplace. Our purpose is to give employers the confidence and competence to
integrate suicide prevention into their overall health and safety culture.
Since 2007, Working Minds™ has offered training and resources to industry
leaders to help them build cost-efficient, effective, and culturally relevant
suicide prevention strategies.
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