Embedding Suicide Prevention into Everyday Workplace Culture

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and it’s an important time to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and share hope and support with those who have been impacted. However, if we only talk about suicide prevention in September, we are missing the point.

Approximately 12 people die by suicide every day in Canada. These deaths impact families, friends, colleagues and communities in ways that change them forever. But even though for loved ones left behind, there may always be a ‘before’ and an ‘after,’ the crisis is rarely a sudden, isolated event. It can reflect the accumulation of circumstances and experiences over time, and often develops within a much larger context of personal, social, financial, health, and environmental pressures.  

Suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility. In the workplace, isn't just about having a phone number on a poster or resources available, it’s about the "everyday behavior" of your organization and the environment that leaders cultivate.

The hard truth: Tools cannot replace culture

Suicidal distress can emerge from a complex combination of cumulative pressures, life circumstances, experiences, and unmet needs. In the workplace, this is one reason burnout deserves to be taken seriously. Burnout is a systemic organizational crisis, described by some as an epidemic. It affects 39% of Canadian employees - about 1 in 4 report feeling burned out "most of the time" or "always"- and costs employers up to $28,500 per person annually. Despite this, 70% of businesses in Canada do not have a workplace mental health strategy in place, even though there is a return of $1.62 for every $1 invested according to a 2019 Deloitte study. 

Workplace burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by long-term, unmanaged job stress. Employers often try to "solve" stress with reactive tools, but while EAPs are useful for supporting a myriad of employee needs, they should be the safety net, not the foundation of your support. If your workplace sets unmanageable workloads and unclear expectations, and rewards 24/7 responsiveness and constant urgency, no amount of EAP utilization or therapy coverage will fix the underlying issue. Employers need to ask: "Are we creating a system that wears people down, and then asking our benefits plan to pick up the pieces?"

Identifying the signs: "not okay" vs. "in crisis"

Half of Canadian workers experience mental health issues that affect their work, yet only one-third share this with their employer. Of course, managers aren’t expected to be psychologists or experts in mental health diagnosis, but they do need to be aware of the signs to watch out for and the steps to take. 

There are some, often subtle, signs that someone might not be ok. For example, disengagement, especially in conversations or activities that someone used to be engaged with. A sudden drop in performance might also be a warning sign. Withdrawal - from social activities, project involvement or even on-camera meetings - can be one of the first signs that someone is not ok. Uncharacteristic silence is also something to watch for. Often, it is the change that is the sign, not necessarily the behaviour itself.  

Rather than waiting for obvious signs of a crisis, managers should be encouraged to use regular, low-stakes check-ins and normalize conversations around stress and mental health. Even a simple approach like “I noticed you’ve been quiet lately, is there anything I can take off your plate this week?” could open the door for a bigger, life-saving conversation.  

Reimagining your suicide prevention toolkit

Your mental health and wellbeing toolkit should be a proactive set of offerings, rather than a reactive response to a real crisis showing up in your workplace. This could start with training. Mental Health First Aid or Psychological First Aid training for managers can provide them with the tools to navigate conversations with sensitivity and empathy. It’s not about having the skills to "fix" the employee or “solve” the problem, it's about effectively bridging the gap to professional support. 

In a crisis-ready workplace, there are clear, structured step-by-step plans for helping during stressful or traumatic situations. They tell everyone who does what, when and how, ensuring that employees get safe, fast and correct support. However, it’s important that ‘crisis pathways’ not be buried in an employee handbook or company intranet. They should be clear, visible and communicated regularly, outside of crisis moments. 

Benefits, like access to counselling, EAPs, drug plans or professional support should be available before the moment of crisis. This often requires a pivot in the way we talk about benefits. Exactly what’s available under your plan needs to be communicated regularly and in ways that employees find accessible. It’s important that the overall message be clear: benefits aren’t just for emergencies, they’re also for when you’re feeling overwhelmed. 

Duty of care as a living practice

While implementing suicide prevention efforts in the workplace is not a legal obligation, I think most of us will agree that it’s the right thing to do. It shows your commitment as an employer to the whole human experience. 

Often, this starts with conversation. Talking regularly about mental health in your workplace can help destigmatize and demystify experiences that are deeply personal but also widely universal. Regular, gentle and sensitive communication about these topics can also make them feel less scary or heavy and increase feelings of psychological safety for those experiencing them and wanting to talk about them.  

It’s important that these conversations are two-way, and not just an outward stream of information. Ask employees what they actually need and find meaningful, and give them opportunities to inform the support decisions the organization makes. Some employees might prefer a wellness account, others might really value a flexible schedule. The best workplaces consider a range of voices and offer both tools and systems that support employees in the ways that really matter to them.

Leadership vulnerability is also important; the behaviour of managers can significantly influence how people respond to their own stress. Leaders should model healthy boundaries, encourage downtime and take vacation. Even something as simple as admitting to fatigue can help others feel safe to admit their own struggles. 

September is Suicide Prevention Month but with suicide being the second leading cause of death among 15-34 year olds, this is a conversation we should have having all year round. 

This is a challenging topic for most of us. It can be difficult to explore, often especially in the workplace. If you’d like some support looking at your benefits plan to ensure it reflects your cultural values, rather than just checking a box, reach out to Shannon for a review or a second opinion.