Although most of us are instinctively driven to try to avoid causing harm to ourselves there are times when someone may deliberately inflict harm on themselves. It is possible that you may learn that a member of your staff self harms.
Self harm is complex with many and varied reasons for the condition. It is important to remember that someone who self harms is not necessarily thinking of ending their life or doing it just to get attention. On the contrary people who self harm often do so secretively and cover up their injuries to avoid attention.
Why do people self harm?
The reasons are many and varied but often self harm is used as a strategy involving the creation of physical pain to avoid an otherwise overwhelming experience of mental pain and anguish.
How to support an employee
Managers should seek help, speak openly with the individual, and not be afraid to ask for assistance when an employee discloses self-harm, focusing on listening and supporting them without judgment.
If they are reluctant to seek external help at this time it may be reasonable to offer them an opportunity to speak to an Occupational Health advisor. Remember you can refer employees with their permission.
Speaking to a trained Counsellor may help them to take the initiative to seek external help, if already receiving external help they will almost always have this type of help in place.
It would be important to acknowledge to the employee the courage it has taken for them to disclose their condition to you and provide the assurance of confidentiality to them if that is what they wish. In some cases it may be beneficial to let their line manager know if you are not in that capacity yourself but not without the person’s express permission. If you have management responsibility and are concerned about the impact on their attendance or performance you should explain that you will need to refer them to the Occupational Health Service for advice about this and how you can best support them.
Although self harm is not the same as an attempt at suicide if you are concerned about any risk of suicide you may need to intervene more directly. View our article on suicide awareness for more information.
Ref: WPW0059 this information was reviewed August 2024.
