Work suicide - Hazards magazine

Features

Crying shame Most of us have seen someone reduced to tears by work stresses. But crying can be just the start of it. Some workers get so distressed they opt for suicide. Hazards 101, February 2008

Drop dead It's the thoroughly modern way to die at work. Top occupational diseases of the 21st century will be heart attacks, suicide and strokes. Hazards argues that none of us should be worked into the ground.
Special online briefing, Hazards, 5 August 2003

Worked to death The cases aren't rare. They are just not statistics. Doctor
Sid Watkins died when his body could no longer stand the "crazy" hours.
Stressed out teacher Pamela Relf killed herself. So did mental health nurse
Richard Pocock. All died because their jobs were just too much to bear.
Hazards 83, July-September 2003 [pdf]

News

Global: Italian widows highlight worker suicides
The grieving wives and family members of more than 25 businessmen who have taken their own lives because of financial woes linked to Italy's economic crisis took to the streets of Bologna on 4 May. The organisers of the march, including the Italian Women's Union, believe there has been too little dialogue and not enough state support for families that have fallen into despair over unemployment, bankruptcies and loan defaults.
ILO news release and full report, World of Work Report 2012: Better Jobs for a Better Economy • TUC Touchstone blog • The Guardian • BBC News Online • Hazards occupational suicide webpages • Risks 554 • 5 May 2012

Britain: Job pressures led to suicide
A Hampshire firefighter who took his own life had been taken on too much work, an inquest has heard. Father-of-three Martin Coles was found hanged in a wooded area in Wickham on 9 August last year.
Portsmouth News • More on work-related suicide • Risks 539 • 21 January 2012

Britain: Austerity measures ‘may increase suicide rates’
The government’s austerity measures could lead to an increase in suicides, Unite has said. In response to an official consultation, ‘Preventing suicide in England: a cross-government outcomes strategy to save lives’, the union draws parallels with the Greek economic meltdown which led to a reported 40 per cent rise in suicides in the first half of this year, compared with the same period in 2010.
Unite news release • More on work-related suicide • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Japan: Overwork suicide payout is upheld
Japan’s Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by two companies against a work-related suicide compensation award. A court order now requires camera and optical products giant Nikon Corp and a Nagoya-based temp agency to pay compensation of over £0.5m for the 1999 death of 23-year-old temporary worker Yuji Uendan, who killed himself because of overwork-induced depression.
Japan Times • Japan and Tokyo News • More on work-related suicide • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Australia: Work suicide ‘epidemic’ spurs union action
An ‘epidemic’ of work-related suicide affecting construction workers in Australia has prompted a union campaign to extend support to members under strain. CFMEU’s pilot ‘Mates in Construction’ suicide prevention programme trains mentors to pick up warning signs in work colleagues and offer an understanding ear and professional help.
CFMEU news release • ACTU news release • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Britain: Stress and workload linked to suicide death
A council lawyer hanged himself because he was “unable to cope” with his increasing workload and implementing a contentious cuts programme, an inquest has heard. David White, who had worked for the authority for more than 20 years, was found dead in Butley Woods, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, on 4 April.
BBC News Online • Daily Telegraph • The Guardian • Daily Mirror • Hazards work-related suicide webpages • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Europe: Suicide rates 'linked' to financial crisis
The financial crisis “almost certainly” led to an increase in suicides, health experts have concluded. An analysis by US and UK researchers found a rise in suicides was recorded among working age people from 2007 to 2009 in nine of the 10 European nations studied.
David Stuckler and others. Effects of the 2008 recession on health: a first look at European data, The Lancet, Volume 378, Issue 9786, Pages 124 - 125, 9 July 2011. BBC News Online • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Korea: Samsung blocks suicide investigation
Multinational microelectronics giant Samsung is blocking an investigation into a workplace suicide, campaigners have charged. Last week, the mother, older sister, and aunt of Kim Ju-hyeon positioned themselves in front of the head office of Samsung Electronics in Seoul, holding a funeral portrait and wailing.
Stop Samsung campaign • The Hankyoreh • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Japan: Mazda told to pay up for worker suicide
A Japanese court has ordered car manufacturer Mazda to pay 63 million yen (£470,000) in damages to the parents of an employee who was ruled to have taken his own life because of overwork-related depression. The latest damages plus the other payments give the parents the entire 110 million yen (£825,000) they demanded in their lawsuit filed against Mazda in 2008.
Today online • More on work-related suicide • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

France: Postal worker suicide ‘71st in a year’
The suicide of a French postal worker has prompted fears about working conditions in the country’s Post Office. A 56-year-old worker killed himself on 8 January in Bouches-du-Rhône, in southeast France, in what unions says is the fifth suicide in the region in a year and the 71st nationwide.
RFI.fr • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Job loss digger driver killed himself
A digger driver from Hull hanged himself after losing his job, an inquest has heard.
Patrick McLaughlin, 52, been made redundant when the company he was working for went into liquidation in August last year.
Hull Daily Mail • TUC news release • Risks 461 • 19 June 2010

Global: Unions call for action on Foxconn suicides
A global union confederation has said it is “gravely concerned” at the tragic suicides at Foxconn Technology Group in Shenzhen, China. ITUC says the Taiwanese Foxconn group is at the heart of the ‘Made in China’ export model.
ITUC news release • Good Electronics and makeITfair joint statement • Sign up to the Labourstart appeal in support of the Foxconn workers • Risks 459 • 5 June 2010

China: Electronics giant faces suicide controversy
Foxconn Technology, the giant contractor that manufacturers the iPhone and other brand name consumer electronics, has defended its employment standards after the suicide death of an eighth worker.
CBC News • Cult of Mac • Xinhua.net • Risks 457 • 22 May 2010

Australia: Suicidal worker told to ‘toughen up’
Fifteen years as a single-crew ambulance officer left Rick Wallace with post-traumatic stress disorder and a serious back injury - he would sometimes have to carry patients by piggyback to a stretcher because he was on his own. A manager told him to “cowboy up” when he attempted suicide in September 2006, and he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Sydney Morning Herald • Police Post Trauma Support Group • Risks 445 • 8 May 2010

China: Foxconn ‘suicide express’ production exposed
A spate of suicides among young workers has highlighted oppressive management methods at the global electronics giant Foxconn, local unions say. Wang Tongxin, vice-chair of the Shenzhen Federation of Trade Unions said Foxconn had “developed a kind of quasi-military management system” combined with tight production schedules.
China Daily • China Labour Bulletin • More on occupational suicides • Risks 452 • 17 April 2010

France: Talks after suicides shock Disneyland
Union representatives and managers have been in talks over the working environment at Disneyland Paris after three workers killed themselves in the last eight weeks. The most recent suicide was that of a Eurodisney chef, who was found hanged at his home over a week ago.
Sky News • The Independent • The Sunday Times • More on occupational suicides • Risks 451 • 10 April 2010

Britain: Recession leads to depression
The number of people suffering stress, anxiety and depression because of redundancies, job insecurity and pay cuts owing to the recession is soaring, a study has found. Worries about the effects of the downturn have produced a sharp rise in people experiencing symptoms of common mental health conditions, according to the report, by academics from Roehampton University and the children’s charity Elizabeth Finn Care.
Elizabeth Finn Care news release • The Guardian • GMTV • Daily Express • Risks 451 • 10 April 2010

Britain: Teaching stresses leave staff ‘suicidal’
The pressures piled on teachers are so severe some staff have considered suicide, research for the union NASUWT has found. Its survey found a lack of support from schools and their management teams was leading to stress, burnout and depression. Politics.co.uk • . Hazards occupational suicide webpages • Risks 451 • 10 April 2010

France: Unions criticise suicide response plan
Unions have said plans by France Telecom to address the “social crisis” that has made the company name synonymous with workplace suicides do not go far enough. Under the plan to remedy organisational ills that have seen the French president intervene, France Telecom will recruit 3,500 people in 2010 in order to reduce workloads and stress and job transfers will be voluntary and not mandatory, a departure from the previous policy.
UNI news report • Risks 450 • 3 April 2010

Britain: Unionised workers are happier workers
Unions can help prevent staff feeling stressed and de-motivated by new working practices and reduce the number of staff quitting their jobs, according to a new report from the TUC. The publication comes in the wake of recent international scandals linking the recession, job insecurity and company restructuring to a deterioriation in staff health and well-being and to an increased suicide risk.
TUC news release • The road to recovery, Touchstone Pamphlet, TUC, March 2010 [pdf] • Risks 448 • 20 March 2010

France: ‘Radical change’ after telecom suicides
France Télécom’s new management must move quickly “to take charge and encourage radical change” if it is to put an end to a suicide crisis, according to a study commissioned by the company. The team of Stéphane Richard, who formally succeeded Didier Lombard as chief executive on 1 March, has a “few weeks” to install a new style of leadership to address the crisis, according to an interim report from Technologia, a human resources consulting firm.
Telecom TV • New York Times • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010

Australia: Tragedies linked to compensation worries
Injured workers in South Australia are going without food and medication and some have been driven to suicide because they cannot afford basic necessities, it has been claimed. SA Unions, the umbrella organisation for unions in the state, is campaigning to “restore fairness” in the system, which is says is currently “the costliest, least fair and most poorly managed workers compensation scheme in the nation.”
Ann Bressington news release • SA Unions news release • The WorkCover Suicide video can be viewed on the Todaytonight website • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010

Britain: Head’s suicide 'linked' to school inspection
The death of an “outstanding” headteacher was “inextricably linked” to the outcome of a school inspection, a sheriff has concluded. Irene Hogg's body was discovered at a secluded spot near Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders in March 2008, days after she received critical feedback from the visit.
The Independent • The Guardian • Border Telegraph • The Herald.
Hazards work-related suicides news and resources • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010

Finland: Union says suicides are only the start
This autumn four employees of the Rautaruukki steel mill in Raahe, Finland, took their own lives. But they represent only the tip of the iceberg, according to union shop steward Mika Vuoti and safety representative Alpo Pirneskoski.
Trade Union News from Finland • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009

France: More company concessions on suicides
France Télécom is preparing to set aside €1 billion (£90m) as part of a plan to end a spate of suicides amongst staff by offering older workers the chance to go part-time. The telecommunications giant, which has already suspended restructuring, said it may enable staff aged over 57 to work part time under a stress reduction programme.
The Times • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009

Britain: Job stress led to suicide
The pressure of an unwanted promotion led to a young professional's suicide, an inquest has heard. On his 29th birthday, 30 May this year, Benjamin Cheung drove his BMW to a secluded train station car park and stabbed himself three times with a kitchen knife.
Preston Citizen • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009

France: Firm moves to end work suicides
After union protests over 24 workers killing themselves in 18 months, France Télécom boss Didier Lombard says he wants a “new social contract” with trade unions. Suicide notes have blamed high levels of work stress on workers’ decisions to end their lives and Lombard - whose number two, Louis-Pierre Wenes, resigned this week after intense criticism of the company’s handling of the crisis - has promised to ease up on workforce mobility, which has been a bone of contention.
France Télécom statement and news release • Radio France • BBC News Online • The Guardian • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009

France: Hotline plan for suicidal telecoms staff
France Telecom has promised to set up a free hotline for workers suffering from stress after the 23rd suicide by one of its employees in 18 months. The move followed a crisis meeting between the French labour minister, Xavier Darcos, and France Telecom's chief executive, Didier Lombard.
BBC News Online • Connected Research • Hazards suicide webpages • Risks 424 • 19 September 2009

Global: Work pressures lead to suicide problem
Reports from Ireland, France, the USA and the UK have identified a sharp rise in suicide risks related to work. These follow 'Crying shame', a report last year from Hazards magazine, that warned work factors could account for up to 250 suicide deaths in the UK each year.
Irish Examiner • Truthout translation of L'Humanité article • US Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and Occupational suicides: Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, BLS, USA, August 2009 [pdf]. Hazards work-related suicide webpages • Risks 423 • 12 September 2009

USA: Big leap in suicides at work
The recession may be driving more people to take their lives at work, new statistics from the US suggest. The number of people who killed themselves at work in the US rose 28 per cent to an all-time high last year.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries • Business Insurance • The Guardian • Hazards work-related suicide webpages • Risks 421 • 29 August 2009

Europe: Warning on recession related death risk
The stress triggered by job losses could see suicides rise across Europe if governments fail to take preventive action, according to a new study. Researchers concluded that soaring stress brought on by job losses could prompt a 2.4 per cent rise in suicide rates in people under 64 years of age, a 2.7 per cent rise in heart attack deaths in men between 30 and 44 years, and a 2.4 per cent rise in homicides rates.
LSHTM news release. David Stuckler and others. The public health effect of economic crises and alternative policy responses in Europe: an empirical analysis, The Lancet, 8 July 2009 • Science Daily • The Guardian • Sky News • BBC News Online • Risks 414 • 11 July 2009

Australia: Bullying blamed for apprentice suicide
The suicide of a teenage apprentice, tormented while working for a state government contractor in New South Wales, Australia, has highlighted the problem of workplace bullying. Alec Meikle, 16, was an apprentice with rail contractor Downer Edi, where his workmates threatened to rape him and set him on fire.
Live News • More on work-related suicide • Risks 412 • 4 July 2009

Japan: Record numbers worked to death
Record numbers of Japanese workers were worked to death last year, according to official compensation figures. A total of 269 cases qualified for state compensation last year, one up on the preceding year and a record high for the third straight year.
Japan Today • Risks 410 • 13 June 2009

Britain: Job problems drove school head to suicide
A headmaster hanged himself after discovering that the parents of a pupil were bringing a tribunal complaint about his school, an inquest has heard. Neil Sears, 52, who was found hanging from a heating pipe in the boiler room at Meadowgate School, in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on 20 January this year left a note on a fax machine, which read: “I just give up, sorry.”
The Telegraph • Wisbech Standard • Norfolk Eastern Daily Press • Peterborough Today • Hazards occupational suicide webpages • Risks 410 • 13 June 2009

Britain: Schools pressure linked to mental illness
Schools are blighted by stress-induced mental illness and many teachers face burn-out before they retire, according to teaching union NUT. It says teachers in England and Wales have an almost 40 per cent greater rate of suicide than the general population.
The Guardian • Crying shame, Hazards 101, 2008 • Risks 402 • 18 April 2009

Global: Job insecurity linked to suicides
Researchers in France have identified a clear correlation between job insecurity and suicidal tendencies. American psychologists have coined the phrase “econocide” to describe a wave of suicides they say are linked to the current global economic crisis, and the phenomenon has also been recognised in the UK, where Edinburgh University’s Professor Stephen Platt said an upturn in suicides “is not only because more people become unemployed and, as a result, more psychologically vulnerable, but also because those in employment feel threatened too.”
HESA news report • BBC News Online • More on work-related suicide risks • Risks 399 • 28 March 2009

USA: Army recruiters describe job nightmare
The suicides of four US Army recruiters from a single battalion has focused lawmakers and veterans advocates on the enormous stress endured by soldiers tasked with refilling the ranks of the country’s all-volunteer military. In response to the deaths, the Army suspended all recruiting nationwide last week to focus on leadership training, suicide prevention and the health of its 8,900 recruiters.
Houston Chronicle • Hazards website. www.hazards.org/suicide • Risks 394 • 21 February 2009

Work suicide news archive