Suicide Resulting from Job Stress - Essay Example

Studies have also revealed that most of the people relate their mental health problems to their job and the cost of the time which is lost due to any kind of mental health problem is immense. (Lewis, 2003). Every year in the UK, the absences due to stress related issues cost 4 billion pounds annually. Estimates in Canada reveal that annually the cost of time lost due to stress costs $ 12 billion. Factors that cause stress at workplace There are some people who think that stress works as a motivator and thus it is positive, however it can also be negative if it is very much and the workers get negatively affected by it.

Excess stress can also result in various problems such as physical and health problems as well as thoughts of suicide. There are various factors that contribute to workplace stress. For instance, very long hours at work or a lot of work are a cause of stress. However, even if the work is too less it can also be a cause of stress for an individual. Other factors are threats to personal safety which occurs mainly in those places of work which are dangerous such as coal mines and oil refinancers.

At every workplace, workplace conflict is a must and it occurs between those employees who disagree with one another on anything. This also occurs because of politics at work. Moreover, due to inflation and for cost cutting purposes, companies often downsize and opt for cutbacks which increase the issue of job security. Poor communication is another factor that causes stress at workplace because when the people are unable to understand what has been communicated to them, things do not work well.

Besides this, lack of autonomy at work, few chances of growth and advancement and low involvement in decision making are some other factors. (Leat, 2001). Suicidal behaviors at the workplace Any individual who recognizes the signals a depressed person gives can intervene and help that person. However, most of the people do not feel comfortable being involved in such cases due to fear. There are some strategies that help in overcoming this fear and these are mentioned below. The companies should educate the employees as well as the management regarding suicide and they must be informed about the factors and warning signs that lead to suicide.

Before any kind of crisis occurs, community resources and the referral options must be identified. The employees should know that intervening in their life does not mean that the counseling process would be prolonged. After A Suicide Attempt When an employee attempts for suicide, there are two major concerns he has when he returns to the job. Firstly, he thinks he would go through psychiatric hospitalization and secondly their other concern is what their colleagues will think about them. It is shown in some studies that psychiatric hospitalization can be negative for an employee since it can lead to assumptions which are incorrect because of which the individual will not be treated properly.

There are however some steps which can be followed to make it easy for the employees to return to their work without much problems. (Barker, 2008). The management must safeguard the confidentiality of the employee that he has attempted