We’re Asking the Wrong Question
“How do we spot the signs of someone contemplating suicide?”
11 Years
If it takes, on average, 11 years* between the time a person begins to experience symptoms of mental health to the time they seek treatment (IF they seek treatment), then I believe we’re asking the wrong question.
Because with a gap this large, there’s a chance you’ll never see a sign(s) before you hear the words “They died by suicide.”
It’s the reason I believe we should instead be asking “How do we prevent someone from ever getting to a point where they want to take their life?”
The Solution
As for the solution, it sits in our environments, given they impact our health more than our lifestyle choices.
And work / our workplaces - a place where we spend the majority of our waking hours - it’s one of these environments.
Work Related Psychosocial Hazards
Did you know that are over 17 work related psychosocial hazards (aka: workplace suicide risk factors) that have the potential to cause psychological or physical harm to a person? That if any one, or combination, of these hazards are present for an extended period of time, they can contribute to and/or worsen feelings of anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and taking action on suicide… regardless or not if a person’s been diagnosed with a mood disorder?^
These hazards include: high job demand and excessive workloads, low job demand and control, poor support, low role clarity, poor organizational change management, poor workplace relationships including interpersonal conflict, poor organizational justice, low reward and recognition, violence and aggression, traumatic events, harassment, remote or isolated work, poor environmental conditions such as heat, bullying, incivility, social undermining and ostracism.
And yes, some of these workplace suicide risk factors we can change and some we cannot.
Taking roofing for example… it’s hard, physical work (high job demand) that’s mundane (low job demand) and often takes place in poor environmental conditions (extremely hot or cold temps). Even though it’s tough to change these three risk factors, we still have an opportunity: change how we treat the individuals doing the hard, mundane work in unfavorable temps.
It’s what I like to call “kindness” - not to be mistaken for being nice or weak - and can look like the following (we’ll stay with roofing):
Working side-by-side all new employees in order to understand their strengths, weaknesses and personality. Not only will it help you bid your jobs so that you’re not overstretching a person’s capacity, you’ll get to know them. This matters because you can’t “recognize a sign” if you don’t know the day-to-day demeanor of your employees.
Show them they matter by saying hello or good morning; and/or addressing them respectfully (Sir or Ma’am). Sounds silly, maybe even simple, but my gut tells me it’s not being done regularly even though the research is there to tell us it has an impact on a person’s mental health (e.g. reduces hostility and microaggressions, builds trust).
Bidding a project with real expectations (e.g. more man hours) when the temps on a roof will exceed 150 degrees Fahrenheit (66 degrees Celsius) in July. The crew will slow down and need ice, water and Gatorade. Provide it, don’t expect them to bring it. Instruct everyone to be on the lookout for someone falling-out. And at the end of the day, thank them for working so hard.
I’ll tell you first hand that the solutions I provided work. Yes, the research is there to back it all, but my husband - a roofing contractor - uses each one of these in his day-to-day operations.
As a result, his employees feel seen, he has a work environment employees want to come back to the next day, his turnover is below industry rates, he’s profitable, and in 17 years, he hasn’t had a suicide.
You too can prevent someone from ever getting to the point where suicide becomes the solution; even if they’re sitting within this 11-year window.
One kind solution at a time.