The human and economic costs of suicide are comparable with many chronic illnesses that are better understood. The suicide of one person impacts on the quality of life and work of dozens of people left behind.

Alongside the immense personal and social costs of suicide, the 2000 annual completed suicides in Australia are tentatively estimated to cost the economy between $12 and $17 billion per year. This article further investigates the hidden costs of suicide.

If you can learn to look out for signs of suicide in your workplace, you will be helping to safeguard your workers, the community and the financial success of your business.

What do we look out for?

Behaviour is the biggest insight to suicidal thoughts. Suicidal behaviour can be linked to depressive behaviour or other mental health symptoms such as mania or anxiety, but does not necessarily need these to be present for someone to be thinking suicidally. Some suicidal behaviour can include:

• Previous suicide attempts;
• Being moody, sad and withdrawn;
• Talking of feeling hopeless, helpless or worthless;
• Taking less care of themselves and their appearance;
• Losing interest in things previously enjoyed;
• Finding it hard to concentrate;
• Being more irritable or agitated;
• Talking or joking about suicide;
• Expressing thoughts about death through drawings, stories, songs etc;
• Saying goodbye to others and/or giving away possessions;
• Engaging in risky or self- destructive behaviour; or
• Increasing alcohol or drug use.

There are specific risk factors for employees involved in workers’ compensation too:

• Having more than one compensation claim;
• Having a long duration claim;
• Being male or aged 30 – 34 years;
• Having depression;
• Having associated family/relationship problems;
• Having experienced medical system failure;
• Their primary accepted compensable condition is a central musculo-skeletal injury.

Where to go, what to do

If you identify any of these signs or are notified about them by other employees, you must ensure that the person involved receives professional help immediately. You cannot just give the person some space or let things settle. People considering suicide already feel isolated and need the issue to be addressed.

Lifeline’s toolkit lists 10 steps:

1. Act promptly. If you are aware that someone is considering suicide, deal with the situation immediately. Don’t assume that it will resolve itself.
2. Don’t panic. It’s normal to feel like panicking or to try to convince yourself that you should ignore the situation, blame the person or look for quick-fix solutions. Though they’re normal reactions, you must ignore these feelings. They won’t help you save the person’s life.
3. Make contact. Speak with the person and express your concern for their safety. Ask them how they are feeling and just listen, without trying to provide solutions for them. The simple act of speaking can help most people feel immediately better.
4. Ask the hard question. Ask the person directly whether they are contemplating suicide. It’s very hard to do, but is the only way to know whether their life is in danger. Don’t worry that you’ll put the idea in their head – you won’t.
5. Get the details. If they are considering suicide, find out how in danger they are by asking them whether they’ve thought about how and when they would do it and whether they have tried to harm themselves before. Ask if they have people they can call on for immediate support, and see if you can help them think of reasons to not carry it out, including family, friends, religious convictions or personal coping strengths.
6. Take action. Using the previous information, decide what to do. Do not agree to keep it a secret. Contact family or friends to try to convince the person to seek professional help, or if the situation is urgent, contact professional help yourself. Try to limit the person’s contact with any means of suicide including weapons, drugs or vehicles. The employee mad be angry with you at this stage, but you are doing the right thing.
7. Professional help. Contact one or more of the following:
   • GP
   • Counsellor, psychologist, social worker
   • School counsellor, youth group leader, sports coach
   • Emergency services: police and ambulance
   • Mental health services: CAT team
   • Community health centres
   • Hospitals
   • Priest, minister, religious leader
   • Telephone counselling services: Lifeline, Kids Help Line
8. Ask for a promise. Suicidal feelings don’t usually go away after one conversation. Ask the person to promise to talk with someone if the feelings return. They could call you, family, Lifeline or a professional they may have had contact with before.
9. Work with others. Don’t deal with this on your own. Involve other people, professionals and organisations that can help you with this complicated situation. Take care of yourself and don’t forget about your own life and family.
10. Keep in touch. Ensure you, and the person’s family and friends keep in continued contact with the person. Suicidal thoughts and feelings don’t just disappear and can take the a sustained effort working with professionals to make a change.

Ensure the person has 24-hour access to support networks such as family, friends, professionals or phone services. Assist the person in meeting with health professionals and services, and try to be as accommodating with work as possible. Assure your worker that they needn’t fear losing their job, because they are a valued employee and you want to help them get better and return to their job as soon as possible.

Crisis intervention:

If life may be in danger, contact immediately. You can also take the person to your local hospital emergency department. Crisis assessment teams are contactable 24-hours by phone:

• National – Lifeline: 13 11 44, Kids Help Line: 1800 55 1800
• ACT – Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team: 1800 629 354
• NSW – Suicide Prevention and Crisis Intervention: 1300 363 622, Salvo Care Line: 02 9331 6000
• NT – Crisis Line Northern Territory: 1800 019 116
• QLD – Crisis Counselling Service: 1300 363 622
• SA - Mental Health Assessment and Crisis Intervention Service: 13 14 65
• TAS – Samaritans Lifelink - country: 1300 364 566, metro: 03 6331 3355
• VIC – Suicide Help Line Victoria: 1300 651 251
• WA – Samaritans Suicide Emergency Service – country: 1800 198 313, metro: 08 9381 5555

Further information

Lifeline