1.

0 Introduction Into the Case of Peter Parkers Suicide

An enthralling domain pertaining to the case of Parkers suicide rests on the debate of
whether he was an avid gambler resulting in financial stress or he was under immense
workplace stress due to mistreatment by his superior, Larry Lang leading to the formers
suicide. Either of these scenarios, albeit not mutually exclusive, is explanatory of the
reasons behind Parkers unwarranted demise. Whether the adverse party, Fun Times in this
case should be brought to justice or held legally liable for Parkers death remained a
predicament hinging that Parker was drenched in financial difficulty whilst at the same
time lingered by the alleged mistreatment of Larry Lang. This sprouted an emerging
concern pertaining to the mental health and condition of an employee, which ultimately is
clung to both internal and external factors. As the world today is formatively more
complex, such issue plaguing the organization should be contended to and if not at least,
circumvented.
1.1 Theoretical and Statistical Review of Suicide
Suicide (Latin suicidium, from sui caedere, "to kill oneself") is the act of intentionally
causing one's own death. The mental suffering leading up to it is usually prolonged, intense,
and very deep. The suffering of the suicidal is private and inexpressible, leaving family
members, friends, and colleagues to deal with a deep sense of loss and guilt as per depicted
in the case of Parkers suicide. Pursuant to accessible sources over the internet, preliminary
data from the 2008 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program reported 251
workplace suicides - their highest level since the inception of the CFOI program in 1992 as
shown in Appendix A. The data obtained were however based solely on suicidal cases in
workplace suicide cases outside of workplace related to occupational stress were not
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accounted for. Another discovery that warrants our attention in the program is that workers
in management occupations account for the largest group of suicides with reference to
Appendix B.
1.2 Theoretical Review of Employee Mistreatment (Workplace Bullying)
According to Terry (2009), this type of verbal and emotional abuse includes put-downs,
bullying, intimidation, harassment, shame, coercion, exerting values of power or even
being worked to the extreme. Recipient of employee mistreatment may feel harassed,
intimidated, rebellious, devalued, exploited, furious and oppressed. Undesirable
consequences to the organization should such unscrupulous practice remains rampant may
include absenteeism, high turnover, low morale, disruption, lawsuits and lower
productivity. Such consequences are in a close match with the case of Parker, whereby it
can be seen that he was constantly under depression and immense stress due to his superior,
Langs allegedly abusive behaviors. In spite the fact that Parker approached the CEO of
Fun Times Rita Rhodes to explain his situation, he did not proactively follow up with the
CEO albeit the latter exerted numerous efforts to follow-up with Parker. It may however,
be logical to infer that Parker might felt insecure that the CEO would hand down the case
to his immediate superior, which could worsen his situation as he deemed Lang abusive
and unjust.
1.3 Theoretical & Case (Testimonial) Review of Gambling
Gambling is prevalently and operationally referred to the wagering of money or something
of material value or equivalent on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary
intent of winning additional money and/or material goods (Shaffer et at., 2010). A 2008
study conducted at Wayne State University examining the motivations among older adults
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for participating in casino gambling reveals that they gamble for both extrinsic and
intrinsic reasons. While extrinsic reasons include winning money and supplementing
income, intrinsic reasons include entertainment, being around other people, distraction
from everyday problems such as loneliness and boredom as well as escaping feelings of
grief and loss associated with the death of a loved one or close friend. Albeit gambling
serves as either an entertainment or activity to fill in a certain void for many, trudging
beyond such innocent diversion might result in an uncontrollable frenzy or addiction
towards gambling. To the repercussion of not graver by least, study by Kelen (1998)
highlighted addictive or compulsive gambling is likely to result in pathological gambling.
Pathological gambling is recognized as a medical disorder by the American Psychiatric
Association and has elements of addiction similar to alcohol and drug addiction. It
describes a gambler who loses control over gambling behavior with damaging personal,
social and financial effects. Under the semblance of Parkers suicide, it may be reasonable
to construe that the deceased was a pathological gambler based on the testimony of the
casino manager, Sammy Sills such that: (1) Parker was a frequent gambler at Royal Casino
where he would visit Royal Casino every weekend since his university time, (2) Sills
overheard Parkers conversation with an unidentified source suspected to be a loan-shark,
(3) Parker was seen to be constantly drunken while he was in Royal Casino since
November 2013 and (4) Parkers addiction on gambling over the 3 most recently months
had even compelled him to visit Royal Casino during working hours. It is inferable
Parkers insuppressible thirst for gambling might have him incapacitated, stripping him of
his mental capacity to think rationally which could lead him to believe that he has been
constantly languishing under Larry Langs occupational mistreatment. In spite of that, it
may be difficult to establish the deduction as to whether Parkers addiction to gambling
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was due to his new job stress, his superior (Langs) alleged mistreatment or his own
intrinsic / extrinsic needs.
2.0 Discussion & Analysis
This section delves into workplace suicide prevention, recommended for organizations in
todays world to move towards a zero-suicidal environment.
2.1 Workplace Suicide Prevention
An employee suicide has a deep, disturbing impact on immediate colleagues as well as on
overall organizational morale. In circumventing this emerging concern, a broader sphere of
prevention movement is necessitated. One of the movements would be the kick-start from
workplace. Workplaces are a critical partner in preventing suicide. Workplaces endow
people with a sense of purpose and belongingness to a certain community, both of which
are psychological buffers to distress. This gives rise to the question of within the
workplace, how does an organization implement a program to engage, motivate and assist
those in need to get help when they feel extreme despair and hopelessness? The following
entails the necessary measures needed to be taken by leaders and the management to move
towards a suicide-free environment:
1. Alertness, Awareness and Observation
Most often than not, managers are well positioned to notice if his/her employees or
subordinates are struggling or showing signs of depression. The first step under such
scenario would be assisting them to get help. Managers generally have vast experience and
spend a great deal amount of time working not to mention have day-to-day contact with
his/her subordinates. It is natural that a manager gets to know his/her subordinates over the
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time horizon and can observe changes in their behavior, and may see them at critical points
in their life. It is imperative of managers to alertly identify employees who may be at risk
of committing suicide where risk factors such as (1) prior suicide attempt, (2) alcohol,
drug abuse or compelled gambling and (3) mood and anxiety disorders. For individuals
who are already at risk, a triggering event causing shame or despair may make them
more likely to attempt suicide. Withal to that, workplaces often have a structure, such as an
HR Department or Employee Assistance Program (EAP), to which managers can refer
employees to help them find a mental health professional.
2. Positive Work Environment
Managers may also assume an active role in suicide prevention by creating a work
environment that fosters communication, a sense of belonging, and respect. Feeling
connected to a community promotes emotional well-being and reduce risk of occupational
suicide (Rodgers, 2011). Workplace environment should be ideally transparent with open
communication. Such environment bestows employees a sense that they belong to the
community within an organization. Work would subsequently become meaningful since
the employees know that what they contribute affects the organization that they are
affiliated with. Rewards are necessary to encourage and reinforce certain positive
behaviors in employees. This is known as positive reinforcement under operant
conditioning. A reward here doesnt have to be monetary in nature; sometimes even a
simple verbal recognition by the supervisor is all that is necessary to spur the employees
motivation. By rewarding employees who exert remarkable efforts in their work, it is like
to lead to lesser distress, lesser feeling of being coerced and ultimately lesser mental
disorder. Above all else, defining a succinct no-tolerance policy for harassment, bullying,
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or intimidation, and ensure that the policy is communicated, entrenched and enforced at all
levels would definitely help in instilling a sense of security amongst employees and help
bringing down workplace suicide.
3. Rewarding Mental Wellness Programs
Just as workplaces offer incentive programs for nutrition and fitness, workplaces can also
create motivation and opportunities to obtain optimal mental health. For example,
employees can earn points when they take workshops on how to reduce stress or improve
sleep. One workplace in the human service industry in Denver, Colorado, encouraged
employees to create blueprints for how they would improve their overall wellness, and
then worked with supervisors to identify any work-related barriers that might be obstacles
to mental wellness goals.
4. Offering Educational Programs on Mental Illness
Employee assistance professionals or other local mental health service professionals can
provide "lunch-and-learn" sessions that increase awareness about the signs and symptoms
of depression, bipolar disorder, alcohol dependence, and other mental illnesses that can
lead to suicide. By offering stories of recovery and successful treatment, these
presentations offer hope and modeling that treatment works. Furthermore, misperceptions
dissipate when workers interact with providers and are able to ask questions about
concerns that may resolve disparate understanding of a corporate psychologist, such as:
whether employer has access to their counseling records, whether diagnosis will be a
hindrance to promotion etc. This would reduce the tendency of an employee with mental
disorder or potential inner-drive to commit suicide to shy away from the psychologist, as
per depicted in Parkers case.
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3.0 Conclusion:
Incumbent managers should keep in mind that relieving stress in the short term is a viable
approach to prevent suicides, but resolving the underlying causes would take a step even
further. They should provide a stress-free work environment, recognize where stress is
becoming a problem for staff, and take action to reduce stress. An open door policy, clear
discussions and keeping an eye on the seemingly depressed may be the door to a zerosuicidal workplace or environment.