Many employees still lack the knowledge, skills and confidence to help prevent suicide in the workplace, research published ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day this weekend has suggested.
The poll of 2,000 working UK adults for Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England has suggested only one in 10 (13%) know to ask a colleague they are worried about whether they have a plan to end their life. Nearly 40% admit not knowing if asking this question is the right thing to do.
This is despite the evidence showing that asking someone, who has a plan to take their own life, a direct question about suicide can save their life, MHFA England has argued.
A third of those surveyed (33%) believe (incorrectly) that asking about suicide can put the idea in someone’s head, it added.
World Suicide Prevention Day this year takes place on Sunday (10 September) and is designed to reduce stigma and raise awareness among organisations, governments and the public that, despite an estimated one in 20 people making a suicide attempt at some point in their lives, it is preventable.
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As many as 650 suicides in the UK each year could be work related, MHFA England has also highlighted, or approximately 10% of all suicides.
Moreover, despite positive shifts in breaking down barriers around mental health at work and in wider society, suicide is still stigmatised.
The MHFA England research found that a third (33%) of employees would speak to their manager if they were experiencing poor mental health yet less than one in five (19%) said they would discuss having suicidal thoughts.
The top reasons for this were not feeling comfortable (61%), being worried it would affect their job (36%), or that they would be judged (35%).
With the research also showing that more than 75% of employees do not believe suicide prevention is part of their organisation’s wellbeing strategy, MHFA England has called on employers explicitly to include suicide awareness, prevention and support in their mental health support plans.
Simon Blake, MHFA England chief executive, said: “Workplaces can help prevent suicides through awareness raising, education and ensuring support.”
Separately, Group Risk Development (GRiD), the umbrella body for the group risk insurance industry, has reminded employers how imperative it is that they communicate support for mental health clearly and regularly, as employees need to be reminded that expert help is available should they need it.
It is crucial that communication includes alerting employees to the availability of support and how to access it confidentially and independently, outside of office hours, it has argued.
Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD, said: “Even the most comprehensive of employer support programmes for mental health issues will not save a life if it is not communicated regularly so staff know how to access it in their darkest hour.”
GRiD has also reminded employers that most group risk benefits (such as employer-sponsored life assurance, income protection and critical illness) will include within them access to employee assistance programmes, mental health early intervention, fast access to talking therapies, signposting to mental health first aid training, ongoing regular support and contact.
This view has been echoed by Glenn Thompson, chief distribution officer at Unum, who said: “Employers need to consider how to best support the health and wellbeing of their employees – not just through the challenging times but consistently throughout their careers at a business. Value-added services that come with group risk benefits can play a huge part in this.
“Employers have a duty of care to recognise that suicide is an issue that could affect any employee in any workplace. Putting in appropriate measures to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees is a vital part of the employer/employee relationship,” he added.
Finally, research has suggested there is potentially a link between workplace violence and suicide risk.
An analysis combining data from three studies in Finland, Sweden and Denmark has argued that self-reported workplace violence is associated with an increased risk of suicide, according to the study in the journal Lancet Public Health.
The study was based on data from more than 205,000 individuals, of whom some 35,000 had been exposed to actual or threats of violence. After controlling for age, sex, educational level and family situation, exposure to workplace violence was associated with a 34% increased risk of suicide attempts or death, it concluded.
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