“Mr. VandePol, you’re awesome. You’re ugly; but you’re awesome." How could I have known that this characteristically irreverent comment from a local teen would be his last words to me before his suicide death one week later. What signs did I miss? How could I have prevented it? Did I contribute to his pain? What can I do to support his family? Who else is at risk? How do we prevent copycat events? Why? Why? Why?

Sadly, more than 30,000 Americans die by suicide and more than 500,000 attempt suicide each year. Families, communities, and workgroups wrestle with loss and unanswerable questions. Employers face not only the tragic impact of human loss but also increased exposure to significant financial loss. According to Dr. Paul Quinnett, CEO of the QPR Institute, the impact of suicide on a corporation’s workforce consisting of 100,000 employees, with an average of four blood relatives per employee (500,000 lives in all), includes:

• The loss of one employee or family member to suicide every seven days.
• Three suicide attempts every day since there are about 25 nonfatal suicide attempts for every reported suicide. Some of these attempts result in significant medical injury and disability, which directly impacts health care costs.

Although the horror of suicide can induce numbing individual and organizational paralysis, there are proven suicide prevention and response measures that have been found to be effective. This edition of Practice Points aims to look past powerlessness to identify resources offering hope and solutions.

Live life abundantly,

As part of its very successful suicide prevention initiative, the United States Air Force produced a series of video vignettes that capture important concepts that easily apply to any workplace setting. Leaders and Managers at all levels will value these practical insights, portrayed in a sensitive format. The first vignette presents the warning signs of an employee at risk, while the second emphasizes the need for early intervention.

Disclaimer: The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement of CCN by the United States Air Force.

The suicide of a coworker presents one of the most challenging types of cases for the critical incident response specialist. While death of any kind is always a tragedy, suicide requires a much more nuanced and clinically sensitive approach.

The expected and common reactions following grief and loss tend to be magnified after a suicide, with extremes of guilt and anger being much more pronounced. [read more]