• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Safety Risk .net

Humanising Safety and Embracing Real Risk

  • Home
    • About
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact
  • FREE RESOURCES
    • FREE SAFETY eBOOKS
    • FREE DOWNLOADS
    • TOP 50
    • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS
    • Find a Safety Consultant
    • Free Safety Program Documents
    • Psychology Of Safety
    • Safety Ideas That Work
    • HEALTH and SAFETY MANUALS
    • FREE SAFE WORK METHOD STATEMENT RESOURCES
    • Whats New In Safety
    • FUN SAFETY STUFF
    • Health and Safety Training
    • SAFETY COURSES
    • Safety Training Needs Analysis and Matrix
    • Top 20 Safety Books
    • This Toaster Is Hot
    • Free Covid-19 Toolbox Talks
    • Download Page – Please Be Patient With Larger Files…….
    • SAFETY IMAGES, Photos, Unsafe Pictures and Funny Fails
    • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
    • Download Safety Moments from Human Resources Secretariat
  • PSYCH. OF SAFETY & RISK
    • Safety Psychology Terminology
    • Some Basics on Social Psychology & Risk
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk – Prof Karl E. Weick
    • The Psychology of Leadership in Risk
    • Conducting a Psychology and Culture Safety Walk
    • The Psychology of Conversion – 20 Tips to get Started
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk And Safety
    • Psychology and safety
    • The Psychology of Safety
    • Hot Toaster
    • TALKING RISK VIDEOS
    • WHAT IS SAFETY
    • THE HOT TOASTER
    • THE ZERO HARM DEBATE
    • SEMIOTICS
    • LEADERSHIP
  • Robert Long
    • ALL POSTS
    • Learning Styles Matter
    • There is no HIERARCHY of Controls
    • Scaffolding, Readiness and ZPD in Learning
    • What Can Safety Learn From Playschool?
    • Presentation Tips for Safety People
    • Dialogue Do’s and Don’ts
    • It’s Only a Symbol
    • Ten Cautions About Safety Checklists
    • Zero is Unethical
    • First Report on Zero Survey
    • There is No Objectivity, Deal With it!
  • Quotes & Slogans
    • Researchers Reveal the Top 10 Most Effective Safety Slogans Of All Time
    • When Slogans Don’t Work
    • CLASSIC, FAMOUS and INFAMOUS SAFETY QUOTES
    • BEST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2022
    • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
    • COVID-19 (Coronavirus, Omicron) Health and Safety Slogans and Quotes for the Workplace
    • Safety Acronyms
    • You know Where You Can Stick Your Safety Slogans
    • Sayings, Slogans, Aphorisms and the Discourse of Simple
    • Spanish Safety Slogans – Consignas de seguridad
    • Safety Slogans List
    • Road Safety Slogans 2022
    • How to write your own safety slogans
    • Why Are Safety Slogans Important
    • Safety Slogans Don’t Save Lives
    • 40 Free Safety Slogans For the Workplace
    • Safety Slogans for Work
  • Safety Culture
    • Safety Culture Silences
You are here: Home / Mental health / Why People Don’t Speak Up and Suicide

Why People Don’t Speak Up and Suicide

December 11, 2020 by Dr Rob Long 2 Comments

Why People Don’t Speak Up and Suicide

I always find it amusing these campaigns that pop up to deal with a wicked problem in this case the wicked problem of suicide. Wicked problems are intractable unsolvable problems. Wicked problems go way beyond any possibility of fixing or managing. (http://www.enablingchange.com.au/wickedproblems.pdf). Any simplistic attempt at trying to solve a wicked problem usually makes things worse.

It seems that when people don’t know what to do they turn to marketing in some naïve hope that will bring value in tackling a problem, a wicked problem. The safety industry is classic at this. Faced with the wicked problem of risk the response is marketing campaigns of gherkins, dumb mums, super heroes and meerkats (https://safetyrisk.net/meerkat-safety-can-it-get-more-dumb/). But for god sake, don’t change zero. Don’t change the one thing that drives all this brutalism in the sector. Zero is the foundation for amplifying mental health issues at work but make sure it remains untouched.

All of these marketing campaigns simply demonstrate that simplistic responses to wicked problems don’t work. Yet, the campaigns keep on coming and the core issues are never dealt with. In this way we can keep everything just as it is so that nothing changes.

Recently Victoria Police launched a campaign ‘Let’s Talk About Suicide’ (https://www.bluespacewellbeing.com.au/suicide-awareness) and for this cause they turned to technology to do the trick. With the aid of technology they resurrected a police officer Senior Constable Laurie Fox who had suicide 8 years earlier and brought him back to life in an animation to state that he wished he had spoken up. My god the desperation of avoidance and confrontation is incredible in this campaign and all at the same time appearing to tackle a problem yet underneath doing nothing to really tackle things that manufacture and sustain mental health problems at work.

It’s so easy to run a marketing campaign and look like you are addressing a problem and yes people are lauding this Victoria Police campaign as if it makes any significant contribution to the problem. The campaign is offensive, riddled with guilt and generates and amplifies all of the mythologies associated with suicide without actually tackling the problem, a wicked problem.

At the heart of the wicked problem of suicide is culture. No-one will speak up in a culture of bullying, brutalistic and individualistic behaviourism that is dehumanizing. And if you don’t speak up, rather than projecting blame onto the organisation and culture, blame is projected on the individual, ‘why didn’t you speak up?’ We provided all the avenues for you to speak up (Bluespace and of course and app – Equipt) and yet you didn’t, it couldn’t possibly be that we have the problem not you. This is the message of this campaign – don’t tackle the foundations of the problem just put in some fluffy ad campaign and continue on.

Here we are reminded once again in this video that speaking up takes courage and personal strength and by insinuation if you don’t you are weak and a coward.

And of course, just like the nonsense of ‘safety is a choice you make’ this video holds the same mythology that ‘suicide is a choice you make’. How offensive. How simplistic. How naïve. None of this tackles the wickedity of the problem of suicide. How cheap, how glib and superficial.

Of course, someone wrote the script for Senior Constable Laurie Fox to speak, they put words into his mouth as if they know why he took his own life. How offensive. None of what he is made to say in this video even comes close to what the research tells us about suicide.

The reasons why Constable Fox doesn’t speak up according to the words put into his mouth just further exacerbates and amplifies all the mythology that surrounds suicide including much of the mythology that is generated around the ‘R U OK Day’ annual performance (https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/09/why-im-not-ok-with-ruok-day/; https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/not-enough-the-problem-with-mental-health-initiatives-like-r-u-ok-day-20170913-gygncy.html ; https://medium.com/@jenniehill/why-i-hate-ruok-day-667e53b340e7 ).

If you are interested in learning about suicide as a wicked problem then maybe start with these:

· https://www.suicideinfo.ca/resource/suicidetheories/

· https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicidology

· https://oxfordmedicine.com/view/10.1093/med/9780198570059.001.0001/med-9780198570059

When we understand suicide as a wicked problem we move away from simplistic campaigns, guilt trips and myth making and the endorsing of mythology associated with mental health issues. The more we come at wicked problems as if they are a binary problem then we will simply make things worse and nothing will change.

There are hundreds of reasons and causes why people don’t speak up about many things and they have very little to do with the idea of ‘choice’. One would need to study quite a bit of Social Psychology to get a start on tackling the problem.

The more we perpetuate populist myths about suicide promoted by such marketing campaigns as this ‘Let’s Talk About Suicide’ campaign then the less things will change. Such campaigns make it look like we are doing something when at the source such an approach is cosmetic and a façade of marketing to try and address a wicked problem.

  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
  • More about Rob
Dr Rob Long

Dr Rob Long

Expert in Social Psychology, Principal & Trainer at Human Dymensions
Dr Rob Long

Latest posts by Dr Rob Long (see all)

  • Culture Silences in Safety – Memes - June 27, 2022
  • Ritual Performance and Risk - June 24, 2022
  • Asking Better Questions in Risk - June 21, 2022
  • The Toxic Language of ‘Performance’ and Risk - June 17, 2022
  • The Art of Active Listening in Risk - June 12, 2022
Dr Rob Long
PhD., MEd., MOH., BEd., BTh., Dip T., Dip Min., Cert IV TAA, MRMIA Rob is the founder of Human Dymensions and has extensive experience, qualifications and expertise across a range of sectors including government, education, corporate, industry and community sectors over 30 years. Rob has worked at all levels of the education and training sector including serving on various post graduate executive, post graduate supervision, post graduate course design and implementation programs.

Please share our posts

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Mental health, Robert Long Tagged With: suicide prevention

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rob Long says

    December 11, 2020 at 8:20 AM

    The most important thing in orthodox safety is to keep everything as it is, run a meerkat campaign and continue to brutalise people.

    Reply
  2. Bernard Corden says

    December 11, 2020 at 7:29 AM

    Strengthening Approaches to Workplace Mental Health:

    https://www.aihs.org.au/events/improving-integrated-approaches-workplace-mental-health#:~:text=%20Strengthening%20Approaches%20to%20Workplace%20Mental%20Health%20,time%3F%20Don%E2%80%99t%20worry%2C%20you%20can%20vie…%20More%20

    Like the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket – George Orwell

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search and Discover More on this Site

Never miss a post - Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,434 other subscribers

NEW! Free Download

Please take our 2 minute zero survey

Recent Comments

  • Rob Long on Ritual Performance and Risk
  • Brent Charlton on Ritual Performance and Risk
  • Rob Long on Culture Silences in Safety – Socialitie
  • Joe Zinobile on Culture Silences in Safety – Socialitie
  • HASSAN MOHAMMED on Free Online Safety Training Courses
  • Rob Long on Safety Climate / Safety Leadership Survey
  • Ann on Safety Climate / Safety Leadership Survey
  • Rob on Near Miss or Near Hit
  • Robert Long on The Convenience of Complacency
  • patricia on Free Hotel and Resort Risk Management Checklist

FREE eBOOK DOWNLOADS

Recent Posts

  • CLLR Quarterly Newsletter–June 2022
  • Spot the Hazards – What is Wrong With These Safety Photos?
  • Culture Silences in Safety – Memes
  • Are you a Safety Crusader or a Safety Leader?
  • Ritual Performance and Risk
  • Asking Better Questions in Risk
  • The Toxic Language of ‘Performance’ and Risk
  • OHS Compliance Puts Lives in Danger
  • Talking About Teams
  • The Art of Active Listening in Risk

What is Psychological Safety at Work?

Footer

AUTHORS

  • Alan Quilley
    • Heinrich–Industrial Accident Prevention
    • The Problem With ZERO Goals and Results
  • Bernard Corden
    • After the goldrush
    • The Internationale
  • Bill Sims
    • Employee Engagement: Chocolate, Vanilla, or Strawberry?
    • Injury Hiding-How do you stop it?
  • Craig Clancy
    • Task Based vs Activity Based Safe Work Method Statements
    • Safety And Tender Submissions
  • Daniel Kirk
    • It’s easy being wise after the event.
    • A Positive Safety Story
  • Dave Whitefield
    • Safety is about…
    • Safety and Compliance
  • Dennis Millard
    • Are You Risk Intelligent?
    • Honey they get me! They get me at work!
  • Drewie
    • Downturn Doin’ Your Head In? Let’s Chat….
    • How was your break?
  • Gabrielle Carlton
    • All Care and No Care!
    • You Are Not Alone!
  • George Robotham
    • Risk assessment tips
    • How to Give an Unforgettable Safety Presentation
  • Goran Prvulovic
    • Safety Manager – an Ultimate Scapegoat
    • HSE Performance – Back to Basics
  • James Ellis
    • Psychological Core Stability for Wellbeing in Workers Comp
    • In search of plan B in workers’ recovery
  • James Parkinson
    • To laugh or not to laugh
    • People and Safety
  • John Toomey
    • In it for The Long Haul – Making the most of the FIFO Lifestyle
    • Who is Responsible for This?
  • Karl Cameron
    • Abby Normal Safety
    • The Right Thing
  • Ken Roberts
    • Safety Legislation Is Our Biggest Accident?
    • HSE Trip Down Memory Lane
  • Mark Perrett
    • Psychology of Persuasion: Top 5 influencing skills for getting what you want
  • Mark Taylor
    • Build a Psychologically Safe Workplace by Taking Risks and Analysing Failures
    • Enculturing Safety
  • Max Geyer
    • WHS Legislation is NOT about Safety it’s about Culture
    • Due Diligence Is Not Just Ticking Boxes!
  • Matt Thorne
    • Safety Culture–Hudson’s Model
    • Culture – Edgar Schein
  • Peter Ribbe
    • Is there “Common Sense” in safety?
    • Who wants to be a safety professional?
  • Phil LaDuke
    • Professional Conferences Are A Sleazy Con
    • Hey Idiots, You’re Worried About the Wrong Things
  • Admin
    • CLLR Quarterly Newsletter–June 2022
    • OHS Compliance Puts Lives in Danger
  • Dr Rob Long
    • Culture Silences in Safety – Memes
    • Ritual Performance and Risk
  • Rob Sams
    • Are you a Safety Crusader or a Safety Leader?
    • The Learning (and unlearning) that Revealed my Vocation
  • Barry Spud
    • Spot the Hazards – What is Wrong With These Safety Photos?
    • Things To Consider When Developing And Designing Your Company SWMS
  • Sheri Suckling
    • How Can I Get the Boss to Listen?
  • Simon Cassin
    • Safety values, ideas, behaviours and clothes
  • Safety Nerd
    • The Block isn’t portraying safety as it should be
    • Toolbox Talk Show–PPE
  • Wynand Serfontein
    • Why The Problem With Learning Is Unlearning
    • I DON’T KNOW
  • Zoe Koskinas
    • Why is fallibility so challenging in the workplace?

Most commented on

Forecasting Safety

The Banned Objects Index – A New Development in Safety Culture

Dumbs for Safety

The Real Barriers to Safety

Safety as Faith Healing

Who Said We Don’t Need Systems?

Why Safety Controls Don’t Always Work

How to use signs, symbols and text effectively in communicating about risk

Safety Should NOT Be About Safety

How Do We Know?

FEATURED POSTS

Two Week Intensive Workshops 5-16 August 2019 Canberra

The Primacy of Play in Learning

A Professional Ethic of Risk

It’s a Great Goal, it Just Doesn’t Work

The Unconscious and the Soap Dispenser

A Culture of Care (and sackings…)

Social Psychology of Risk Post-Grad Pics

Safety-as-Persona

Safety and Non-Neuroscience

Envisioning and Creativity in Safety

WARNING: Not Your Typical Safety Nonsense

Words Can Change Your Brain

What Are Observation-Conversation Skills?

Social Psychology Of Risk Workshops

Right and Wrong in Safety

King of the World – Why is Sociopathy and Psychopathy so prevalent ‘at the top’?

The Social Psychology of Distance-Safety

The Safety Charade as Tokenism in Safety

Talking Risk Video–The Unconscious In Communication

Social Psychology of Risk Two Day Workshop

More Posts from this Category

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,434 other subscribers

How we pay for the high cost of running of this site – try it for free on your site

Top Posts & Pages

  • BEST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2022
  • Free Safety Moments Examples, Tips and Resources
  • Road Safety Slogans 2022
  • Download Safety Moments from Human Resources Secretariat
  • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
  • 15 Safety Precautions When Working With Electricity
  • COVID-19 (Coronavirus, Omicron) Health and Safety Slogans and Quotes for the Workplace
  • CLLR Quarterly Newsletter–June 2022
  • Free Risk Assessment Template in Excel Format
  • CLASSIC, FAMOUS and INFAMOUS SAFETY QUOTES

 

How To Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer

 

 

How to Make your own Covid-19 Face Mask

 

Covid-19 Returning To Work Safety, Transitioning, Start Up And Re Entry Plans

 

How’s the Hot Desking Going Covid?

imageOne of the benefits of the Covid-19 epidemic is a total rethink about how we live and work (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-28/coronavirus-could-reshape-how-australians-work-forever/12097124 ).

Expertise by Regurgitation and Re-Badging

One of the fascinating things about the Coronavirus pandemic is watching Safety morph into epidemiology expertise. I would like a dollar for every flyer, presentation, podcast, powerpoint, checklist template, toolbox talk and poster set that had jumped into my inbox… Read the rest

The Stress of Stasis

One of the challenging things about the Coronavirus crisis is stasis. For those without work and confined to home, for those in self-isolation, it’s like life is frozen in time. ‘Stay at home’ is the mantra. The trouble is, in… Read the rest