Neoliberalism, toxic work and the shadow of death
Hidden suicidality among Australia's finance sector workers
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21349152 |
|---|---|
| Authors | John G Flett (University of Divinity), John Bottomley (0000-0002-9823-730X, University of Divinity, corresponding author), Brendan Byrne (0000-0003-0526-426X, University of Divinity) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 68 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 408-438 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Industrial Relations (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-1856 • E-ISSN: 1472-9296 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00221856251358996 |
| OpenAlex | W4412997513 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 25 |
Addressing work-related suicide requires new perspectives and methods such as the industrial relations of the union–university partnership basic to this study. Nineteenth-century business priorities on sustaining profitability and ameliorating dehumanising industrialisation hid work-related suicide. Workers compensation systems contracted out determining work-related harm to medical science, which attributed suicidality to individual pathology. When researchers began uncovering statistical associations between work stress, bullying, work strain, mental health and suicidality, it fell to the courts to address links between work-related harm and suicide. Though this approach provided a greater understanding of suicidality, it did not impact the normative medical priority of individual pathology. This article follows the stories of 10 finance sector workers. The prime cause of suicidality for each rested in the processes created by their employers’ framing toxic corporate governance and culture. Unjust management was justified by the rubric of corporate profitability, workers’ psychological distress was silenced, and the threat of suicidality was ignored. Suicidality prevention demands models of work health and safety which transcend the violations justified by the state's incorporation of neoliberal ideology and include ethical perspectives that address unjust power relations, enable a commitment to enhancing worker solidarity, and facilitate openness to respecting the spectre of death
Economics · Labour economics · Neoliberalism (international relations) · Political economy · Political science · Precarious work · Psychoanalysis · Shadow (psychology) · Sociology · Work (physics) · Employment and Welfare Studies · Engineering · Occupational Health and Safety Research · Psychology · Workplace Violence and Bullying
Neoliberalism
The Social Roots of Suicide
The sacred canopy
Psychosocial hazards
Workplace Suicide and States of Denial
Justice, Freedom, and the Moral Bounds of Capitalism
Re-Thinking Ethics and Politics in Suicide Prevention
What can critical suicidology do
Working with standards—post‐crisis positioning of bank advisors
The Christopher Bollas reader
Masters of the Universe
A Capitalism That Kills
Workers' compensation and the governance of pain
| Highly cited | No |
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