The statistics are, ironically, depressing – suicide rates for middle aged America (35 to 64) has increased by a 
staggering 28% in the first decade of the 21st Century, and is showing no sign of abating. That age bracket also has the majority of workers in corporate America – these are the people most at risk. 1 person commits suicide every 16.2 seconds, and 79% of them are males. In the same time period, the proportion of Americans on anti-depressants also nearly doubled, and now nearly 14 out of every 100 Americans under medication for depression. This means that such a large proportion of the populace is at risk, and the stress and concerns of a work environment are often contributory.
The responsibility to be there for our colleagues and comrades is on all of us – however, even if we are willing, we are often not equipped to handle such situations. Either as an employee in a high-risk profession (like firefighting or EMTs) or as a Manager/HR executive, it becomes even more important that you learn to see the signs and know how to act when one of the people around you in office is depressed and contemplating suicide. In most of these cases, we ignore conventional signals because we assume that everyone has a bad day, or that we do not wish to contemplate the possibility that someone might wish to end their life. Often, our emphasis on work and meeting targets has to be squared against the human needs of our employees.
One cannot wait for the employees to speak out – in a survey of workers, substantially more than half of those surveyed believed that seeking assistance for psychological problems would not be accepted – such as drug addiction (76%), alcoholism (73%) and depression (62%). To be an effective and good colleague, manager, leader and friend, it is imperative that you learn how to identify, approach, assist and rescue potentially suicidal workers. Learning those skills requires knowledge about the warning signs, and professional help in knowing the best course of action to approach and help the person in need, and the colleagues round this person.
This webinar “Suicide: Management and Employee Awareness and Protocol Skills…” by expert speaker Jim Zalud will reveal facts that will increase your knowledge and readiness to identify, process, and mitigate a suicide crisis in the workplace.
