Preventing Suicide from Happening at Work Through Lethal Means Safety

Treat Lethal Means Safety Like Any Other Jobsite Hazard

There are actions employers can take to prevent workplace suicides. The key is for employers to have a comprehensive suicide prevention program that accounts for lethal means safety on the job.

Lethal means safety is a prevention strategy that limits access to highly lethal methods of suicide, particularly during moments of acute crisis. This concept extends beyond firearms to include potentially harmful materials, such as pesticides and herbicides, medications, and access to physical spaces such as heights.

"Limiting access and convenience of lethal means is important. It's not just firearms, although those are common. It's also things like pesticides or other poisons, among other means," Jeffrey Tabares, PhD, a suicide researcher at Ohio State University (OSU) Wexner Medical Center, told me recently. Dr. Tabares explained that reducing access to lethal means safety can have a significant impact on suicide rates. For instance, in the Israeli military, requiring soldiers to return issued firearms before going on leave led to a 70 percent reduction in firearm-related suicides. ³

Expanding that kind of limited access to lethal means safety that workplaces could also limit access by implementing systems where all lethal means, including chemicals or equipment, must be checked out and monitored, Dr. Tabares said.

Samantha Daruwala, PhD, also a suicide researcher at OSU, says that it is important to change the environment around the affected employee. For risk managers and workplace leaders, this means thinking critically about the tools, materials, and spaces employees have access to and implementing policies that prioritize safety without compromising operational efficiency.

Dr. Daruwala gave the example of how highly toxic herbicide tablets in foil packets are lethal and can be used to die by suicide. But, she said, "If people who are suicidal are commonly ingesting, say four of these, then we should only sell them in packs of two or three. And further, what if there's a background check for purchasing six packs of them?"

Dr. Daruwala also shared that in New Zealand, by putting up bridge barriers as a way to shift the environment and make it less conducive to suicide, rates were lowered. ⁴

The Window to Act Is Short

Individuals who make the decision to attempt suicide often do so within a very short window, usually anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour.

"When employees get really stressed out, and are contemplating a suicide attempt, roughly between 25 and 40 percent will make the decision to do so within 5 minutes," Dr. Tabares said. "If you expand that out to an hour, then it's about 70 percent. But what I am saying is that there is really only a 5-minute window to intervene." ⁵

And, depending on what the means of harm is, a person who makes an attempt while on the job and then regrets their choice might still be helped if there is a suicide prevention program in place. Dr. Tabares said, "With a firearm, there's no immediate survival afterwards, as they either have died or they are unconscious. But with something like poison, or some other means, they might immediately regret what they've done and decide they need to get help."

Preemptive Plan to Live Through a Suicide Crisis

Another key strategy employers can use to prevent workplace suicide is to help employees build individual coping strategies. Craig Bryan, PsyD, is the director of suicide prevention at OSU's College of Medicine. He is renowned for his work on crisis response planning. He suggests that individuals who create their own crisis plans—outlining warning signs, coping strategies, and reasons for living—can better regulate their emotions in moments of distress. Encouraging employees to develop these personalized response plans with professional guidance can be a valuable tool in workplace suicide prevention.

Part of this plan means developing one's own lethal means safety plan when suicidal thoughts start to surface. Dr. Bryan demonstrates what this might look like in this YouTube video.

Improve Lethal Means Safety

Reducing suicide risk at work starts with thoughtful changes to the physical environment, especially when it comes to access to lethal means safety. ⁶ Employers can take practical steps like locking up potentially deadly materials, such as pesticides or duty firearms during off-hours, and creating check-out systems for hazardous substances, to ensure supervised use.

Modifying the packaging—such as limiting quantities or adding extra safety steps for high-risk chemicals—can also reduce the likelihood of impulsive use. In high-risk settings like construction, access to dangerous areas can be restricted when not needed for work. Fields such as veterinary medicine, where lethal medications are routinely handled, can adopt safeguards such as controlled dispensing and secure storage. International efforts offer further guidance, such as the United Kingdom's switch to less toxic gas in home heating, which led to a significant drop in gas-related suicides. These strategies show how environmental design can be a powerful form of prevention.

Lethal Means Safety Education and Peer-to-Peer Intervention

Lethal means safety education in the workplace is a vital part of empowering peers to look out for one another, particularly in high-risk, high-stress industries. Training workers to recognize warning signs and respond with compassion can prevent a crisis from turning into a tragedy.

Peer-support programs help normalize check-ins among coworkers, creating a culture where it's okay to ask, "Are you doing okay?". Supervisors and team leads play a critical role, too, by responding without judgment when someone expresses distress; they can de-escalate situations before they become emergencies.

As suicide deaths tied to the workplace continue to climb, organizations must treat suicide prevention with the same seriousness as any other safety issue. That means combining education on lethal means safety, peer intervention training, and culture change to create environments where people are both protected and supported.

Other Resources

• National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, Lethal Means & Suicide Prevention: A Guide for Community & Industry Leaders (2019)
• Defense Suicide Prevention Office, Lethal Means Safety for Military Service Members and Their Families (2021).