How to support a colleague who has lost a loved one to suicide

In 2024 almost 50,000 Americans died by suicide, making it the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. And the ripple effects are even wider. According to research, each suicide is connected to 135 people who knew the deceased, including coworkers, along with a percentage of those who were considered “close connections.” Extrapolating that data, 6.6 million people are added to the larger community of suicide loss survivors each year. I am one of those “loss survivors.” On January 5, 2025, while in a plane taxiing out on a runway, I received a text message from my half-brother telling me my father had died by suicide. The shock of his death, including how it was communicated, left me traumatized and depressed. While I was fortunate to have the strong support of my wife, daughter, and son-in-law, at some point I started to think, “Who should I tell?” While the decision about sharing the loss of my father was highly personal and based on a number of factors, which I discussed with my grief therapist, it left me thinking, How can we support others in the workplace who have faced these unimaginable events in their lives? And that commitment is not one to be taken lightly, giv…