Between 2008 and 2009 the company, then called France Telecom, had 35 employees commit suicide. Chief executive Didier Lombard took the legal position that he could not be held accountable for people he had never met deciding to take their lives.
The fact is some suicides happened on premises, and most of the notes left behind blamed the working environment and the culture. One note described the culture as “management by terror”.
Even after Lombard resigned in 2010, the culture remained emotionally violent. In 2013 11 people took their lives, and in just the first three months of 2014 10 people killed themselves.
What is unprecedented about the Orange France case is that it raises the question of who is accountable for the way an employee feels. The case strongly suggests while one person may have a powerful effect on others, the truth is we all affect each other.
The solution lies in people changing their thoughts and feelings before the behaviour causes negative effects to occur. This will require a mind-shift where everyone takes responsibility for the way they feel and the way they make others feel.
It’s not about blame. It’s about accepting we are all able to respond in ways that create a positive working climate around each other.
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Category(s):Workplace Issues
Source material from The Australian
