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Wed, Oct 14, 2009 16:10 EDT

Work-Related Suicide: Not Just France Telecom's Tragedy

At France Telecom, stress related to a radical restructuring is driving some workers to the depths of despair.

Topic: Personal Management

Blog: Career Connection

Current Rating: 5 Comments: 12

The tragedy at France Télécom has taken the business world by a sad, surprised storm. Since February, 2008, 24 employees have committed suicide and 13 others have attempted to take their lives due to unbearable stress at work, according to various media reports. This week that figure rose to 14 suicide attempts: Just today French firemen prevented a 54-year-old France Télécom worker from hanging himself.

France Télécom has been undergoing a significant restructuring as the formerly state-owned company moves toward privatization and battles the global economic recession. The German daily Spiegel Online reports via BusinessWeek Online:

Even though the state [France] still owns a majority share in the business, the shift toward privatization has brought with it a tough new management style concerned primarily with profit and productivity, according to unions and works committees. "There is no humanity anymore, no neighborliness. Only business counts," Patrice Diochet, the CFTC union's national secretary, said.

Layoffs and staff reassignments associated with the restructuring have exacerbated employees' stress and anxiety, writes Spiegel Online. The company, which employs 100,000 people, is cutting 40,000 jobs and has already transferred many employees to different functions (e.g. technicians moving into customer service and sales people moving into call center work), often without adequate training, according to the German report.

The suicides and attempted suicides at France Télécom are shocking and heart-breaking. The changes the company is undergoing must represent a dramatic paradigm shift for employees, whose jobs had been largely secure when the company was entirely state-owned. Now they have to compete for jobs. Now they have more work. Now they're performance really matters.

France Télécom employees are facing a tremendous amount of change and uncertainty. I understand how such an environment would create unbearable levels of stress and anxiety, but I can't imagine the psychology that would drive someone to end his or her life over a job. That is the true tragedy.

Nevertheless, it's sad that a corporation's drive for profits and efficiency has rendered so many employees so miserable that they want to end their lives. One suicide is enough. It's also sad that these employees feel that taking their lives is their only escape from their misery, stress and anxiety.

In the U.S., we're used to competition, working nights and weekends, two weeks of vacation per year, layoffs, forced ranking, pay-for-performance systems and other hallmarks of our capitalist, free market economy. I don't mean to imply that the French are soft; I happen to admire many of their labor practices. And after all, these business practices certainly stress out Americans. The difference, I think, is that we're used to it. We know what's coming. And we know how to prepare ourselves. We also have more employment options than the French, who historically have had higher rates of unemployment than the U.S.

What do you think of the suicides at France Telecom? I welcome your thoughts.


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Average (1 vote)
5
 
 
Wed, Oct 14, 2009 16:53 EDT
Anonymous user
Posted by: Ed Prewitt
Rating:

Meridith, see my company's blog on this: http://www.francisgouillart.com/2009/09/suicides-at-france-telecom.html

 
Thu, Oct 15, 2009 18:10 EDT
Anonymous user
Posted by: Anonymous
Rating:

I feel terrible for the families of the suicides. On the other hand if your premise is correct, work ethic in the sense most people think about must have been nonexistent at France Telecom. The cocoon has been busted open...and welcome to the REAL world.

 
Fri, Oct 16, 2009 9:01 EDT
Posted by: Meridith Levinson
Rating: 10

Just to clarify: I don't mean to pass judgment in any way on the work ethic of the French. I am by no means an expert on French labor issues, but I have gotten the sense from having lived in Paris and studied French history and culture in college (lo, those many years ago), that their work habits/attitude toward work and the work environment/culture in France are very different from America. (Just look at the power of labor unions in France for an example of how things are different.) I don't in any way mean to say or imply that their work habits and work environment is bad. It's just different from what Americans are used to.

Thanks for prompting me to clarify and thanks for sharing your thoughts.


 
Fri, Oct 16, 2009 14:58 EDT
Anonymous user
Posted by: EugeneNizker
Rating:

Yes, it is a tragedy. Yes, it is horrible for the family members.

I don't know anything about French Telecom. I am just thinking that a comment regarding busting the cocoon may have some merit.

If you work in a private company of a small or medium size, if you get used to the pace and the stress of it, did you ever get this strange feeling when you walk into a governmental organization once in a while? Especially if it's unionized? I have nothing against people working in these companies, they are mostly nice people, but somehow... if you really check... if you dig a bit deeper (and I did several time due to the nature of my work) you almost always find disheartening atmosphere of no caring for the perfromance, for a buck, too much of expecting the same old tomorrow... and in a year... and in ten years... I see it without a fault in each and every of these organizations here in NA. So, i think the statement that starts with "In the U.S., we're used to competition..." reflects a bit idealistic view, sorry Meredith.

Again, nothing against people working in these organizations. It's just that those who need to make a buck sometimes say that they are taxed to feed those huge unionized monsters... And yes, i do realize how unbalanced, judgmental and politically incorrect my comment is.

Eugene Nizker,
Evident Point Software

 
Fri, Oct 16, 2009 18:06 EDT
Anonymous user
Posted by: Karen
Rating:

It's ironic that they are going from State owned to Private and we are doing the reverse it seems in many cases in Financial Services. More government involvement. No longer worried about the bottom line and more worried about Social Responsibility being the new trend. Perhaps Americans will become less stressed?

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