France: One in 10 suicides is work-related
One in 10 suicides in adults in France is related to work, according to a new government study. The report from the French ministry of health, Santé publique France, also provides a definition of ‘work-related suicide’ for the purposes of identifying cases for further investigation by workplace health and safety inspectors. Any of five criteria is used to identify a potential work-related suicide that is automatically subject to investigation:
- A suicide in the workplace;
- a suicide note blaming work;
- a victim in work uniform;
- testimonies of bereaved pointing to work-related factors; and
- known difficulties at work prior to the suicide.
Information on 1,135 suicides was collected by eight participating coroners' offices (Instituts médico-légaux) between 1 January and 31 December 2018. The newly published findings reveal 10 per cent of all suicides examined were potentially work-related according to the five defining criteria. Of those whose employment status was known, 28.3 per cent were employed at the time of death. Of these, work appeared to have played a role in 42 per cent of suicides.
Source: Risks 1011.