Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER January 25, 2016 6 NEWS by region, by sex, by age, so we're really trying to piece it together at this point." Research has shown that for ev- ery one per cent rise in unemploy- ment, there's a corresponding 0.79 per cent rise in the suicide rate, said Grunau. "However, there's typically about a two-year delay between the two. People exhaust their per- sonal resources before they get to the point of considering suicide," she said. "Suicide is a very complex is- sue — there's lots of contributing factors. I'm not saying that (these layoffs) are not a contributing factor, but we don't have enough data to make that sort of direct link that this increase in suicide is directly related to layoffs in the oilpatch." Another potential factor that could be at play? June 2015 came two years after a catastrophic flood that hit regions of Alberta and displaced more than 100,000 people. "Again, I can't make that deter- mination of whether that factored in or how that factored in, I just know that what research shows us is that two years is when you see the full impact of psycho-social effects from a disaster," said Grunau. The Calgary Distress Centre has seen an increase in overall calls but not specifically in sui- cide-related calls, according to Joan Roy, executive director. "We have seen an increase in overall calls — about a four per cent increase is where it's at right now," she said. "I think, especially in that first six months of the year, there were a lot of folks who were very anx- ious — there was a lot of uncer- tainty around whether they were going to be laid off or not. "We do see calls where people are struggling economically or financially because of layoffs and that, and I feel confident to say there has been a bit of an increase." Vulnerable population A further consideration is the fact that employers in the oilpatch and natural resources industry are dealing with a particularly high- risk employee population, said Grunau. "Three out of four (suicide) deaths in Canada are male. Wom- en have far more attempts, but men choose more lethal means. And men in our society have been socialized — still, unfortu- nately — to not reach out for help. ey're not as socially connected as women, they work in isolation," she said. "If you think about the indus- tries in Alberta, we've got a lot of traditional 'male' industries… and our men don't talk. They don't ask for help, they 'man up,' they keep it inside. And it's a bad combination." Women are more likely to at- tempt suicide but men are more likely to succeed, said Valerie Taylor, psychiatrist-in-chief at Women's College Hospital in Toronto. "Part of the reason is that men are more likely to use more violent methods," she said. "ey're also more likely to not communicate when they're feeling bad, and to use coping methods like (abusing) substances." Warning signs for potential sui- cide attempts might include sub- stance misuse or a person seem- ing withdrawn or moody, she said — and people should know the type of acute financial stress seen in Alberta, particularly when un- expected, can exacerbate any pre- existing issues. e downturn came as a sur- prise to many in the province, according to Roy. "At least, it didn't feel like (there was much) leading up to it… a lot of people were shocked by it and taken off guard, so I think we're very good at adjusting our lifestyle to our income… but the flipside of that is that it really puts us in a situation when a job loss does happen, it's hard now to pay all our bills, it's hard now to maintain that lifestyle." Employer support It's a difficult issue for employ- ers to tackle, according to Taylor, because the problems may arise just as an individual is exiting the workplace. "It's challenging… a lot of or- ganizations have mental health (supports) or employee assistance programs that people can access while they're working, but as soon as they're no longer working, they can't access that anymore," she said. Employers should consider providing support for a period of time even after people leave. "I also think that employers need to be a little bit more well- versed in what are the local resources and be able to refer people to crisis programs," she said. "ere should be some infor- mation made available to people as well that this is a very common situation that can cause a lot of acute stress." Often, people just don't know where they can go for help, said Grunau. "One thing that I think our em- ployers could do more of is give people a road map. If they have an EAP, remind them they have an EAP. ey may be losing their job, but they may hold onto their benefits for six months," she said. "Direct them to those resources." Employers can also be as pro- active as possible in communicat- ing, said Roy. "If the layoffs are coming, let people know — the more in- formation that people have, the better able they are to cope with things." It's really important that em- ployers share what they reason- ably can share with employees, she said. "(And employers should) make sure that if they are laid off, that people are OK… one of the things we always want to do is make sure that when we are giving people that bad news, to make sure that they have supports in place. And if they don't have supports in place, then I think it's our obligation to help with that." Workers should be informed of support resources ALBERTA < pg. 1 "Suicide is a very complex issue — there's lots of contributing factors. I'm not saying that layoffs are not a factor, but we don't have enough data to make that direct link." RECRUITING FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS? O er positions to over 200,000 Members Highly targeted advertising Immediate matching resume database access FOR MORE INFORMATION, cpacanada.ca/CPASource TELEPHONE•416 204 3284•EMAIL•TGardiner@cpacanada.ca 14-126a_EN_CPAsource_fullpagead_9.625x7.indd 1 1/5/2016 3:24:31 PM

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