Toolkit

Preventing and Responding to Suicide at Work

Understanding Suicide

In 2023, there were 4735 deaths by suicide in Canada, equating to roughly 13 suicides per day. In 2024, Saskatchewan reported 204 suicide deaths, equalling a rate of 16.2 per 100,000 population. In Canada, the rates of suicide/hospitalizations for self-harm are especially high for certain groups:

Suicide has a profound human and organizational impact in Canada. Recent research suggests 135 people are exposed to each suicide death, and of those, 10 to 30 are deeply affected. (Cerel, et al., 2018) Given that roughly 70% of people who die by suicide are of working age, workplaces are often significantly impacted. (Institute for Work & Health, 2010)

Suicide as a Workplace Issue

Suicide is a complex and deeply human issue that touches many workplaces, whether through the loss of an employee, concern for someone at risk, or the ripple effects of grief across a team. In Canada, suicide remains a leading cause of death, and its impacts extend beyond individual lives to affect colleagues, families, and communities. For employers, leaders, and HR professionals, understanding how to recognize risk, respond with care, and support recovery is vital to creating a psychologically safe and compassionate workplace.

Workplace factors

Workplaces are not just places of employment—they are environments where employees spend significant time and encounter conditions that can affect their psychological well-being, both positively and negatively. Work can be both protective and contribute to suicidal risk, and certain working conditions are emerging as important, modifiable risk factors. (Greiner BA, 2022) Research shows that employment generally lowers suicide risk; certain workplace conditions contribute significantly to mental health challenges (whether it be mental distress or mental health problems), including suicidal thoughts and behaviours. (CDC, 2023), (Milner, Witt, LaMontagne, & Niedhammer, 2018) (Leach, Poyser, & Butterworth, 2017) The conditions include:

For example, stressful working conditions and poor management have been linked to clusters of suicides in organizations, illustrating how workplace environments impact employee mental health profoundly. Workplaces that ignore psychosocial hazards may inadvertently increase suicide risk [NIOSH Total Worker Health, 2023]. Additionally, workers in construction, law enforcement, veterinary medicine, and healthcare may be at higher risk. (CDC, 2023)

High-Risk Occupations and Professions

This is particularly visible in higher-risk sectors such as construction and extraction, farming and forestry, protective services (police, firefighters, corrections officers), healthcare, and certain caring professions (social service workers), where exposure to trauma, moral distress, isolation, financial strain, and access to lethal means can all heighten vulnerability.

When organizational conditions include poor support, stigma about mental health and suicide, and unmanaged psychosocial hazards, they can become root contributors to harm—yet these are also the very levers employers can change. By recognizing these patterns, organizations can design safer systems of work, thereby reducing known risks and strengthening protective factors such as connection, fairness, psychological safety, and access to timely, competent support.

Impact on People and Organizations

Suicide and suicide attempts have far-reaching effects that extend well beyond the individual. In a workplace, each incident can ripple through employees, teams, leaders, families, and even clients or the public, disrupting people's sense of safety, trust, and stability. For employees and teams, the loss of a colleague often brings shock, grief, guilt, and fear, along with real impacts on concentration, performance, and team dynamics. Leaders may struggle with their own emotional responses while also bearing responsibility for communication, operational continuity, and workforce care. Families and close contacts are left to navigate profound, often traumatic grief. At the same time, clients or members of the public may worry about continuity of care, safety, or the health of the organization.