World Suicide Prevention Day is observed each year on 10 September. Although we know that good work can protect people’s wellbeing, the International Association for Suicide Prevention says “research shows that factors such as unmanageable workloads, bullying, job insecurity, chronic stress, harassment, and exposure to trauma are linked to suicide ideation, attempts, and death.” This serves as a vital reminder that mental health is a workplace health and safety issue.
Every worker deserves an environment where they feel safe to speak up when they are struggling, and where employers take meaningful steps to reduce stress, prevent burnout, and support wellbeing. In Scotland, too many workers face pressures – from precarious employment and unsafe conditions to bullying and overwork – that can take a serious toll on mental health.
On this day, and every day, Scottish Hazards stands with workers, trade unions, and campaigners in calling for workplaces that protect not just physical safety, but the whole person. Will you stand with them too?
“international researchers and experts in the field of suicide prevention are calling on public health authorities, workplace health and safety regulators, trade unions, employers, suicide prevention associations, and other stakeholders to take urgent action to recognise, investigate and prevent work-related suicides.”
— International Association for Suicide Prevention: Open Letter on Work-Related Suicides
Articles and Research
- FBU: Mental Health Emergency
- Professor Sarah Waters & Hilda Palmer: Work-Related Suicides Are Uncounted
- Waters & McKee, BMJ: Ofsted – A Case of Official Negligence?
- Waters & Palmer, Journal of Public Health: Dying at Work – How Does the UK Regulatory Context Measure Up?
Hazards Magazine
- SUICIDE CRISIS: Action Call as More Than One in 10 Suicides Is Linked to Work
- HOSPITAL CASES: Desperate Workers Not Getting HSE’s Protection From Unbearable Work Pressures
- RIP HSE: Regulator Ignores Deadly Warnings and Suicides at Work
- WE DESPAIR: HSE Action on Suicide Could Save Lives; It Just Doesn’t Want to Do It
Dr Simon Walker
- From Backlog to Breakdown: Nurse Suicides, the NMC, and the Urgent Need for Dignified Support
- World Suicide Prevention Day: Life Events, Loss, and the Work Ahead
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