How an academic’s death by suicide impacts coworkers and an organization

Abstract

To understand the impact of an academic’s suicide death on the organization and coworkers in a Turkish academic institution, we used a phenomenological design on data gathered from the deceased person’s colleagues (five) and administrators (two). We identified seven themes under two categories: Personal (shock and denial, questioning and feeling responsible, stigmatization or asking for forgiveness, personal lessons drawn, regrets and many wishes) and Organizational (solidarity and administrative support, what needs to be changed). We recommend providing separate psychosocial services for students and academic staff and monitoring stigmatizing attitudes toward survivors.