Toolkit
Preventing and Responding to Suicide at Work
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Prevention—Reducing Suicide Risk
Training and Education
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Building Awareness and Confidence Through Education
Knowledge and confidence save lives. When employees and leaders understand how to talk about suicide, recognize distress, and access resources, they strengthen a workplace's safety net. Education and training equip everyone—from frontline staff to executives—to contribute to a culture of care, prevention, and responsive support.
Suicide Prevention Training for Managers and Employees
Training helps demystify suicide prevention and gives staff the confidence to act when someone is struggling. It should be practical, scenario-based, and inclusive of all workplace levels.
Offer tailored training for managers on how to have supportive conversations, make referrals, and respond effectively if someone expresses suicidal thoughts.
Provide all employees with awareness sessions that teach warning signs, myths and facts about suicide, and appropriate ways to connect someone to help.
Include refresher sessions annually and integrate suicide prevention content into leadership development and health and safety programs.
Collaborate with your EAP or local mental health agencies to deliver evidence-informed programs (e.g., LivingWorks Start, safeTALK and ASIST, and Mental Health Commission of Canada Opening Minds, Mental Health First Aid)
Providing Mental Health Education
Ongoing mental health education keeps well-being at the forefront and reduces the sense of taboo often associated with mental illness.
Integrate mental health content into existing training programs, such as onboarding, diversity and inclusion sessions, or safety meetings.
Educate employees about the connections between mental health, stress, and suicide risk—and the importance of early intervention.
Offer learning formats that meet diverse needs: workshops, e-learning modules, short videos, and discussion toolkits for teams.
Keep communication simple, consistent, and relatable, focusing on skills and ways to access help.
De-Stigmatizing Mental Health and Seeking Help
Breaking down stigma encourages open conversation and early help-seeking, both key to suicide prevention.
Foster visible leadership commitment—senior leaders and managers should speak openly about mental health, modelling vulnerability and support.
Share real-life stories and lived experience perspectives to normalize help-seeking and promote hope.
Use inclusive, person-first, and recovery-oriented language in all materials and communications.
Encourage peer support and create ambassador roles for employees who champion mental health and well-being initiatives.
Teaching Employees to Recognize Warning Signs
Early recognition can make the difference between crisis and recovery. Employees should understand the behavioural, emotional, and verbal cues that may signal someone is at risk.
Provide clear, accessible information about warning signs such as withdrawal, hopelessness, personality shifts, or talk of being a burden.
Teach practical steps: how to check in with compassion, listen without judgment, and link a colleague to professional help or crisis resources.
Offer posters or quick-reference cards summarizing what to do if someone might be at risk, so help pathways are always visible.
Reinforce the message that suicide prevention is everyone's responsibility—and help-seeking is a sign of courage, not weakness.
For more information on preventing suicide in the workplace, here are some additional helpful resources:
A Suicide Prevention Toolkit—The Workplace and Suicide Prevention
Centre for Suicide Prevention. Preventing Suicide at Work (World Health Organization)
Comprehensive Blueprint for Workplace Suicide Prevention
The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention
Critical Steps Your Workplace Can Take Today to Prevent Suicide
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023)
