Jason, thanks. Here is a comment I wrote on Linkedin this morning:

“Suicide is one of the most difficult issues to write about, especially if the catalyst for the article is an active investigation. I thought a long time about how to write about this incident and what details to include. I have tried to follow the Mindframe media guidelines on this.
In my professional career, I have not had to investigate a fatality, and I never want to, but I do review OHS systems and interview people associated with serious injuries and fatalities, sometimes soon after the incident. You need to be cool, methodical, and empathetic but super-aware of what you say and how you present.
I never envy anyone who investigates work-related deaths and suicides. My thoughts are always with the relatives left behind but also with those seeking the causes.

I have also been touched by suicides but usually not work-related. Suicidal ideation? Most of us have thought about this at some point in our lives, no matter how briefly.

A lot is written about the person who takes their own lives but very little about the circumstances in which that occurred, especially if it is work-related. All the standard legal mechanisms that lock down information and discussion for the purpose of minimising liabilities and reputational damage snap into action with work-related incidents. I understand the purpose, but this also pushes the grief and emotion somewhere else, and often generates anger and outrage from the frustration of apparent inaction.

I will be writing more on this type of incident and its relationship to mental illness generated by unsafe work and unsafe management. We should never forget that the person who took their own life may have been mentally ill but why were they ill? Did we contribute? Did work contribute? This type of examination is essential if we are to prevent these sorts of events.