Content Advisory: This article discusses suicide and related mental health concerns.
When Dr. Michael Ivy, a trauma surgeon and health systems leader, nearly ended his life during a severe bout of burnout, he knew something needed to change—not just in his personal life but in the workplace culture of medicine and healthcare overall. After seeking help for his own mental health, Dr. Ivy started speaking openly about his experience to dismantle stigma and drive suicide prevention in his field.
Jana Murphy felt a similar need after her coworker died by suicide in 2021 following months of workplace harassment. Seeing no change or acknowledgement of the circumstances after Seyfried’s death, Murphy started Justice for Evan, becoming a powerful voice for cultural reform at the company and raising awareness about the lethal consequences of workplace abuse.
Thankfully, Murphy and Dr. Ivy are just two individuals among a growing movement to make mental health support and suicide prevention a workplace norm. In 2022, nurses Joshua Paredes, Michael Walujo, Sarah Warren, and John LeBlanc founded Don’t Clock Out, a peer support network to protect the mental health of nurses, after their friend and colleague Michael Odell died by suicide early that year. Even in the high-powered world of finance, employees at firms like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have pushed for cultural change and more supportive policies after years of losing several young colleagues to suicide prompted in part by work stress.
All of these efforts come into sharp focus this September, during National Suicide Prevention Month and on World Suicide Prevention Day, as we’re reminded of the impact organizations can have on their employees’ mental health, both positive and negative.
In this article, we discuss this impact and the current state of suicide in the United States as well as the ways in which HR and benefits leaders can improve their organizations’ ability to prevent suicide and support employees’ mental health every day.
The Data on Suicide in the United States Today
According to data from Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in 2023, over 49,000 people in the United States died by suicide—an average of one life lost every 11 minutes. An estimated 12.8 million adults seriously considered suicide, and 1.5 million made an attempt. Suicide is now the 11th leading cause of death overall, and alarmingly, it ranks as the second leading cause of death among youth ages 10 to 14 and adults ages 25 to 34.
The data from CDC reveal stark disparities in the suicide rates between different subsets of the population, too. Suicide rates are four times higher among men than women, with men accounting for roughly 80% of all suicide deaths. By ethnicity, Native American and Alaska Native communities face the highest suicide rates, at 23.8 deaths per 100,000, followed by White individuals (17.6) and Native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders (17.3). The LGBTQ+ population, veterans, and people with disabilities are all groups at a higher risk of suicide than the general population as well. Tragically, these numbers have continued to climb since 2020—evidence of the depth of mental health challenges facing Americans today.
Workplace-related Suicide
These challenges aren’t, of course, siloed in people’s personal lives. While suicide is complex and rarely caused by a single factor, job-related stress can significantly contribute to emotional distress, especially when combined with other factors. When there is a demonstrable connection between someone’s suicide and their work, working conditions, or work environment, it’s categorized as a workplace-related suicide.
Over the past two decades, suicide among working-age adults in the U.S. has risen sharply. The most recent CDC data show that nearly 38,000 individuals of primary working age (between 16 and 64) died by suicide in 2021, marking a 33% increase in the suicide rate for this age group since 2001.
Workplace-related suicide risk is often linked to chronic stressors like low job control, long hours and high pressure, lack of supervisor or coworker support, job insecurity, and even access to lethal means in certain roles. People in blue-collar roles and those without college degrees are at elevated risk, which points to some of the ways in which socioeconomic conditions impact mental health.
The impact is visible not only in the toll work stress takes over time but also in tragedies that unfold within the workplace itself. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2022, there were 267 workplace fatalities by suicide—13.1% more than the previous year and 48% more than the 30-year low recorded in 2005. These fatalities have occurred most frequently in transportation and material moving occupations, construction, and management roles. Notably, over half of those who died by suicide on the job were age 45 or older, highlighting the burden that long-term work stress can place on employees as they age.
Certain professions face even more acute mental health challenges. A 2021 study published in Journal of General Internal Medicine found that 15% of healthcare workers had experienced suicidal thoughts, which is nearly double the national average. With high exposure to trauma, burnout, and moral distress—coupled with a work culture that prides itself on being the ones who help, not the ones who need help—workers in healthcare and other high-intensity fields often suffer in silence.
Together, these statistics reveal a sobering reality: the conditions of our workplaces—especially when extreme, isolating, or prone to stigma—can push already vulnerable workers closer to the edge.
Why Work Culture and Policies Matter for Suicide Prevention
Since most adults spend more waking hours at work than anywhere else, the workplace is often where we find not just income, but also community, stability, and even identity. When that environment is toxic—marked by bullying, excessive pressure, or lack of support—or even simply reserved about employee health, it can contribute to serious emotional distress and, in some cases, suicidal ideation. On the other hand, psychologically safe, inclusive cultures that promote mental health can be powerful, protective buffers for employees under stress.
“Mental health is a collective responsibility,” Geetika Bhojak, Global Mental Health Lead at Accenture, explains in Journey CEO Stephen Sokoler’s book, The Mental Health Advantage. “We often talk about individual mental health, but the truth is, it’s a shared experience—our mental health is impacted by the people around us, the environments we work in, and the cultures we build.” To create cultures that buffer instead of threaten, organizations need to recognize the important role they play in people’s health and endeavor to make their workplaces meaningfully supportive at all times.
This is where HR and benefits leaders play a pivotal role. When these leaders champion mental health openly—by transparently discussing mental health, instituting flexible policies that account for the various pressures on people’s lives, and reinforcing support structures at work—they help dispel the persistent stigma around mental health and foster the psychological safety necessary for employees to feel understood and cared for. They create the conditions for people to better maintain their mental health day to day and seek help before things escalate.
6 Ways Companies Can Support Suicide Prevention
There are many opportunities for HR leaders to enact beneficial change. Here are 6 tangible steps companies can take right away to help support employee wellbeing, suicide prevention, and awareness:
- Train managers to recognize warning signs. Equip leaders with the tools to identify warning signs associated with the risk of suicide in employees—things like talking about being a burden or feeling trapped, withdrawing, behaving recklessly, increasing the use of drugs or alcohol, etc.—as well as how to respond compassionately and refer employees to appropriate support. Training can include mental health first aid, suicide prevention basics, trauma-informed language and responses, and how to create psychologically safe team environments. SAMHSA provides ample information about suicide prevention initiatives for specific populations.
- Normalize talking about mental health through consistent messaging. Create campaigns, newsletters, or town hall moments that address mental health as openly as physical health. Promote mental health benefits visibly throughout the environment, both in physical work settings and on virtual platforms. Having leaders and managers share their own stories or vulnerabilities with their teams can make a significant impact.
- Offer accessible, proactive mental health benefits. Make sure employees can easily access therapy, coaching, and peer support—ideally with no or low cost, short wait times, and diverse provider options. Tools like proactive EAPs, on-demand mental health apps, and regular wellness check-ins can meet people where they are.
Journey Proactive EAP provides all of these benefits and then some. With Journey Proactive EAP, organizations receive concierge-level attention, help creating and executing highly impactful mental health communication strategies, a full suite of digital resources available 24/7, diverse clinicians for all employees to feel safe and understood, and the ability to provide mental health support to employees’ loved ones in addition to themselves.
- Build peer support systems. You don’t need to be a clinician to be a lifeline. As seen with the nurses’ organization Don’t Clock Out, peer-to-peer networks can provide powerful, stigma-free support. Establishing affinity groups, employee resource groups, or mental health champions across departments helps reinforce a culture of care and encourages people to seek help from trusted colleagues when they need it.
- Survey employees on the effect of your work culture on their mental health—and listen to what they say. Regular surveys, listening sessions, and leadership audits can uncover issues like overwork, inequity, or harassment. And if they do, resist going on the defense. Really listen to your employees’ concerns and ideas. Understanding, and then addressing, these root causes is critical for organizations to be able to make changes and aim for sustainable suicide prevention.
- Evaluate your current mental health support policies. From leave policies to disciplinary procedures, every touchpoint with employees is an opportunity to reinforce support rather than punishment—to help prevent severe mental health conditions rather than possibly contribute to them.
Individual care is a communal obligation
Ultimately, suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility—but organizations have a unique power to lead. By investing in education, communication, and culture, employers can create workplaces where people feel seen, supported, and safe enough to ask for help before it’s too late.
Where to seek immediate help
If you, your team member, your colleague, or anyone close to you is considering suicide, 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers in the U.S. that provides free and confidential emotional support 24/7. Simply dial or text 988 for help.
The Crisis Text Hotline is also free and available 24/7, connecting people in any type of crisis with a crisis counselor via text or WhatsApp message. Text “HELLO” to 741741, or visit their website at www.crisistexthotline.org to chat with a representative right away.
Finally, trained crisis workers are available at the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline by phone at 1-800-985-5990, or by texting “TalkWithUs” to 66746.
