Study: Low Job Control a Risk for Suicidal Behaviour in Men

Original article published by the NSCA Foundation

Men working in occupations featuring low demands and low control over their own work situation are at a higher risk for suicide attempts and suicide; in jobs with high demands and high control, the risk is lower, according to a study conducted by the University of Gothenburg. The study found that men generally find it harder than women to seek help for mental ill health, and suicide at working age is more common among men. The knowledge of how suicidal behaviour is affected by workplace psychosocial factors is deficient — the current study aimed to investigate these associations in working males.

The study analysed data on 1,483,310 men born between 1950 and 1984 who were conscripted for military service in Sweden in 1968–2002. The study found that there were 2335 suicides (0.2%) during the follow-up period from 2002–2014, in the group of men aged 30–64. In the same period, there were 7334 suicide attempts (0.5%). Suicidal behaviour was reportedly more common among men in ‘passive occupations’ with low demands and low control, based on available occupational classifications. This group reported 7.8 suicide attempts and suicides per 10,000 people annually. Among those in ‘active’ jobs — those with high demand and high control — the corresponding number was 3.0.

Following adjustment for adolescent psychological factors, such as parents’ education, and also IQ and stress resilience, it became clear that the risk for suicidal behaviour was 33% higher among working-age men in passive occupations than men in jobs with low demands but high control, who constituted the study’s reference group. Men in the latter (‘active’) occupations had a 36% lower risk compared to the reference group. People in work situations with high demands but low control were also at elevated risk for suicide, albeit not at such a high risk as those in passive occupations. This elevated risk was not explained by a history of psychiatric ill health during adolescence. In contrast, men whose stress resilience had been low in adolescence more often had passive occupations, and highly stress-resilient men had active jobs later in life.

The study found that depression was a common cause of suicidal behaviour (fatal and non-fatal). The study’s first author, Associate Professor Maria Åberg of Sahlgrenska Academy from the University of Gothenburg, said suicidal behaviour is a complex phenomenon, not always but often involving a process of mental ill health with many contributing factors.

“It’s a terrible family tragedy when someone in mid-life takes their life. It’s also a trauma for co-workers and the whole workplace, and one that has repercussions for many years. We can have a vulnerability from childhood that may also be genetic, and may be linked to excessive alcohol consumption, for instance. And then our job demand–control exposure could be a tipping point. Engaging leadership at the workplace is vital, as is a sense of participation in deciding how we do our work, to boost the feeling of job control,” Åberg said.

Åberg said that the study adds to the growing body of evidence showing that working conditions are a modifiable risk factor for suicidal behaviour as well as for mental illness. “Improving working conditions should be a priority strategy for reducing suicidal behaviour and preventing mental illness in the working population,” Åberg said.

The study was published in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health.

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