Industrialization and Worker Suicide: A Sociological Analysis of Labor Conditions, Social Integration, and Institutional Contexts

This study takes the issue of worker suicide in the context of industrialization as its focus, noting that while industrial society improved living standards, it also intensified labor pressure, transformed social structures, and deepened alienation, thereby heightening suicide risks. The purpose of this paper is to examine how industrialization influences worker suicide through labor conditions and social structure, and to analyze why suicide rates differ across countries and institutional environments. The research adopts a literature review and cross-national comparative case analysis, drawing on Durkheims theory of anomie and Marxs critique of alienated labor, and integrating case studies from Europe, Japan, China, and Northern Europe to construct a cross-national and historical sociological framework. Findings reveal that deteriorating working conditions, fractured social relations, economic instability, and insufficient social protection place workers in high-risk situations, while experiences from Nordic welfare states show that robust security systems and trade union support can mitigate negative effects. Thus, industrialization does not inevitably increase worker suicide, as outcomes largely depend on institutional arrangements and the degree of social integration. The studys limitation lies in its reliance on literature and case analysis without large-scale quantitative data, yet its cross-national and historical framework provides a new perspective for future research and offers scholarly reference for improving workers living conditions and designing social policies.