What are France Tlcoms executives doing to address the situation? Do you think its enough? Are there other actions they might take? If so, describe

What are France Télécom’s executives doing to address the situation? Do you think it’s enough? Are there other actions they might take? If so, describe those. If not, why not?

 

Stress Kills STRESS'S EFFECTS ON EMPLOYEES are a serious concern for employers and IPad), were strongly criticized after 11 Foxconn employ- ses committed suicide. Here is what recent surveys are telling us atout employee stress: 75 percent of Americans say their stress levels are high or moderate. e know that too much stress can be bad for our health and well-being. That connection proved - 44 percent of Americans say their stress levels have gone up in the last nve years. - 81 percent of HR managers say that employee fatigue is a bigger problem than in past years. More than 50 percent of U.S. and Canadian workers say that they feel fatigued at the end of a workday. At least 40 percent of those workers say that their jobs made them depressed. 20 percent of UK workers say they have taken sick leave brought on by stress, but 90 percent have lied about the real reason for staying home. 30 percent of managers say they're more stressed at work today than a year ago. Reasons employees find work stressful: low pay, commut- ing, excessive workload, fear of being fired/laid off, annoy- ing coworkers, and difficult bosses. VV itself painfully and tragically at France Telcom.* Since early 2008, there have been more than 50 suicides of people who worked for the company. The situation cap- tured the attention of the worldwide media, the putblic, and the French govemment because many of the suicides and more than a dozen failed suicide attempts were attributed to work-related problems. The masks worn by these protesting Telecom employees say "Lombard has killed me." Didier Lombard vwas the chairman of the board and chief execu- tive officer of France Tlcom when the suicides took place. Although FFrance has a higher suicide rate than any other large Western country, this scenario was particularly troublesome. The spate of suicides highlighted a quirk at the heart of French society: "Even with robust labor protection, workers see them- selves as profoundly insecure in the face of globalization, with many complaining about being pushed beyond their timits." France isn't the only country dealing with worker suicides. Workplace conditions at China's Foxconn, the world's largest As you can see, stress and its etfects on workers are (and should be) a serious concern for employers. When excessive pressure is placed on people from overwhelming demands or constraints, they often feel they've got no choices or options. At France Tlcom. the wave of employee suicides since 2008 maker of electronic components (including the iPhone, iPod, was cause for concem. Trade union leaders "blame the alleg- edly brutal management culture of a company which has trans- formed itself over a decade from a ponderous state utility to a leading telecommunications company." However, for months, France Tlcom management "dismissed the suicides as a con- tagious fad among its workforce." Unions then criticized the company for its poor choice of language. The Paris prosecutor's ofice opened an investigation of the company over accusations of psychological harassment. supportive practices, including working from home. A com- pany spokesperson says the company has completed two of six agreements with unions that cover a wide range of workplace issues like mobility and work/life balance and stress. Despite these measures, another France TElcom worker committed suicide in April 2011. A union official suggested that "the man had struggled with being made to frequently change jobs." The worker had written to management on several occasions about the situation and was believed to have had no reply. France TElcom's CEO, Stphane Richard, promised a thorough in- The judicial inquiry stemmed from a complaint by the union Solidares Unitaires Dmocratiques against France Tlcom's vestigation into the suicide. "We need to analyze in great depth former chler executive and two members of his top manage- and detail what happened. It is my intention that this investiga- ment team. The complaint accused management of conduct- tion will be particularly painstaking and transparent." ing a "pathogenic restructuring." Excerpts of the inspector's report, although not made public, were published in the French media. It described a situation in which the company used various forms of psychological pressure in an etfort to elimi- nate 22,000 jobs from 2006 to 2008. Company doctors alerted management about the possible psychological dangers of the stress that could accompany such drastic change. Despite these findings, a company lawyer denied that France TElscom had systematically pressured employees to leave. Company executives realized that they needed to ake drastic measures to address the issue. One of the first changes was a new CEO, Stphane Richard, who said his priority "would be to rebuild the morale of staff who have been through trauma, suffering and much worse." The company also halted some workplace practices identified as being particularly dis- ruptive. like involuntary transfers. It is also encouraging more