In 2022 WorkSafe completed a project to collect data and increase understanding about work-related suicide.

We looked at deaths by suicide in New Zealand between 2017 and 2021 and reviewed 1,678 closed coronial findings. As it can take time for coroners to complete their investigations, these findings represent a significant portion, but not all deaths by suicide during this period. Of the 1,678 coronial findings, 197 (12%) met the criteria of being work-related. Research conducted internationally shows similar results.

Key findings

• Approximately 12% of suicides were work-related.
• 86% of work-related suicides involved stressors related to work.
• 22% of work-related suicides used means related to work.
• 10% of work-related suicides occurred in the deceased person’s workplace.

The research report discusses:

• the difference between potential and actual work-related suicides
• work design, social factors, work environment, and other psychosocial factors that contribute to work-related suicide
• a process for exploring whether work-related stressors significantly contribute to a suicide
• recommendations for future research and prevention of work-related suicide
• data by industry, ethnicity, and gender. 

Acknowledgement

We acknowledge the contribution to this report of the Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety, who provided the data through the National Coronial Information Service (NCIS) database.

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