Introduction/framework/objectives

Sometimes there are news about numerous cases of suicide within the same employer, so it is left to consider what relationships may actually exist between Work and this event. A review was then carried out in order to summarize the most recent and relevant published internationally data, in order to provide the Occupational Health and Safety professionals with more knowledge to act.

Methodology

This is a Bibliographic Review, initiated through a search carried out in January 2022, in the databases “CINALH plus with full text, Medline with full text, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Methodology Register, Nursing and Allied Health Collection: comprehensive, MedicLatina and RCAAP”.

Contents

Suicide is a phenomenon that combines numerous variables, namely characteristics of society/community, work and the individual. The main reasons for Suicide are work and/or economic problems; the etiology is usually multifaceted, and labor issues should not usually be the only issue to consider.

The new forms of work organization, with the pressure of increasingly demanding goals/results, sometimes accompanied by moral harassment, can cause suffering at work that, eventually, can lead to Suicide. However, the organization can be able to enhance the mental health of employees and reduce the number of events in this context.

The rationalization of tasks generally enhances efficiency, but dehumanizes and social problems may arise; that is, there is more commitment to productivity (to satisfy consumption) and not so much to social issues.

The restructuring of institutions can lead to an increase in the workload (pace, number of tasks, working hours, worse ergonomics), sometimes also associated with dismissals, temporary incapacity certificates and early retirements.

Bulling/mobbing also alters mental health and increases the risk of Suicide twice, even up to five years later.

Improving working conditions will reduce the risk of suicide in the working population.

Discussion and Conclusions

Suicide seems to be more prevalent (according to most of the studies consulted) in a given sex, personality characteristics, type of work organization and/or specific tasks. It would be relevant for national Occupational Health and Safety teams to be able to detect situations capable of generating a Suicide, before the first concrete case occurs; this would be easier to achieve if teams that have already dedicated some research to the area, deepened it and disseminated their data and conclusions in the form of a scientific article.

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