World Suicide Prevention Day

World Suicide Prevention Day is observed on September 10th every year. It’s a day dedicated to raising awareness about suicide, promoting mental health, and preventing suicide globally.

The day aims to bring attention to the importance of mental health, reduce stigma around discussing suicide and mental health issues, and encourage individuals and communities to take action to prevent suicides.

Organisations can get involved in various ways to help on World Suicide Prevention Day:

Raise Awareness: Organisations can use their platforms to spread awareness about suicide prevention through social media campaigns, webinars, workshops, and informational materials.

Training: Offer mental health and suicide prevention training to employees. This can help create a more supportive and informed workplace environment.

Support Services: Provide access to employee assistance programs (EAPs) or counseling services, either in-house or through partnerships with mental health professionals.

Engage in Conversations: Encourage open conversations about mental health and well-being in the workplace. Create safe spaces for employees to share their experiences and challenges.

Resources: Share resources such as helpline numbers, online mental health resources, and self-care tips with employees.

Wellness Activities: Organise wellness activities on this day, such as mindfulness sessions, yoga classes, meditation workshops, or stress-relief activities.

Create a Positive Environment: Foster a workplace culture that values work-life balance, supports mental health, and encourages employees to take breaks when needed.

Flexible Policies: Consider implementing flexible work arrangements or mental health days to accommodate employees’ needs.

Peer Support Networks: Establish peer support networks where employees can connect and support each other.

Volunteer and Donate: Encourage employees to volunteer or donate to mental health organizations and initiatives.

Examples of company initiatives on World Suicide Prevention Day:

1. Webinars and Workshops: Host webinars or workshops featuring mental health experts discussing suicide prevention, coping strategies, and the importance of seeking help.
2. Lunch and Learn Sessions: Organise lunchtime sessions where employees can learn about mental health, self-care, and resources available to them.
3. Art and Expression: Organise art exhibitions, poetry readings, or other creative expressions to encourage employees to express their emotions and experiences.
4. Social Media Campaigns: Launch a social media campaign using a designated hashtag to raise awareness and share stories of hope and recovery.
5. Mental Health Pledges: Encourage employees to take a pledge to prioritise their mental health and support others.

Workplace Wellbeing Professional & Suicide Prevention

It is crucial to be aware of signs that someone might be struggling with thoughts of suicide. Considering the extent of time the UK workforce spends in the office, educating leaders, managers, employers and employees is paramount.

The team at Workplace Wellbeing Professional does all it can to spread awareness and offer advice and insights to help aid suicide prevention.

Below are some recent news items covering this sensitive topic (with many more to be found under ‘Suicide’ or ‘Mental Health’ in the Topic Index):

• Organisations Encouraged to Act on World Suicide Prevention Day for Employees Home and Abroad
• Workplace Mental Health Support Must be Communication Clearly and Regularly 
• Eight Ways That Firms can Encourage Men in the Workplace to Seek Help for Their Mental Health

You can find exclusive feature articles submitted by healthcare and wellbeing professionals (with many more to be found under ‘Suicide’ or ‘Mental Health’ in the Topic Index):

• Olivia-Louise Hamilton: Addressing a Sensitive Topic – Discussing Suicide in the Workplace
• Alicia Nagar: How the Workplace can be Vital in Suicide Prevention
• Anita Malster: Why Mental Health Training Should Never be seen as a Tick-Box Exercise

Further resources

To further your reading, or to access more resources…

• The World Host Organisation offers a collection of articles on their site, including a factsheet and a Q&A page to help you with any queries: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-suicide-prevention-day/2023
• Samaritans provide quality advice, alongside personal stories and downloadable resources: https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/campaign/world-suicide-prevention-day/
• NHS England has released a comprehensive National Suicide Prevention Toolkit you can access here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Working-together-to-prevent-suicide-in-the-NHS-workforce–a-national-suicide-prevention-toolkit-for-England.pdf

Don’t forget…

Workplace Wellbeing Professional has it’s own comprehensive guide to help leaders recognise the signs and support suicide prevention. Find out more below:

Employee suicide: the ultimate guide for managers