In an effort to put a stop to the ‘infernal spiral’ of its own staff taking their own lives, France Telecom has promised better psychological support for its workers, and to suspend its restructuring scheme, which the economic recession had made inevitable.
The case of the technician is but one of the latest cases of suicide or attempted suicide caused by rising unemployment that have made the headlines.
The recession, and the consequent rise in unemployment, is being felt in the other 26 member states of the European Union as well, which have likewise registered an increase in the suicide rate. In a study conducted by the University of Oxford and by the London School of Hygiene, researchers have found that, generally, for every 1 percent increase in the rate of unemployment there is, on average, an increase of 0,8 percent in suicides for people under the age of 65. In particular, it was found that if unemployment rises above the 3 percent level, the increase in suicides in that age group rises to 4.5 percent, while deaths related to the abuse of alcohol rise to a staggering 28 percent.
In the US the number of people who killed themselves at work rose to an all-time high of 28 percent last year. The grisly statistic sparked speculation that it was due to stress linked to the recession.
The credit crunch has increased the suicide rate in Japan as well. Japanese police have highlighted how, each single month this year has seen a rise in the number of suicides with respect to last year, with a peak in March (3,084 cases), the month in which the fiscal year closes for firms.
We know that extreme acts, of which suicide is one example, cannot be explained away in abstract, general terms. We therefore cannot close the matter by saying that these tragic events are to be blamed solely on the cold, insensitive logic of companies hell bent on profit at all costs.
The string of suicides has led France Telecom to rethink its policy to its workers, but in reality these events should make us all think, especially now when we still do not know whether the recession is ‘over’ or ‘almost over’ or whether it is still raging. These suicides should be an alarm bell, though a loud one, not only for our leaders or company managers, but for all of us.
To lose one’s job is, for some people, like removing the cornerstone from a wall. Some sufferings, losses or worries may wound and destabilise a human being very deeply, but to lose one’s job, with the consequent loss of the sense of one’s usefulness for one’s loved ones and for society may, in some cases and situations, be downright fatal.
France Telecom’s ‘suspension’ of its restructuring scheme will certainly not solve the problem, but it is at least proof that the managers have come to the conclusion that the whole situation needs to be reconsidered.
We must all be watchful and sensitive to the needs of our neighbour, especially when they are in difficulty. Politicians must spur their governments to act, entrepreneurs must do some soul searching… and the rest of us must do their own part in ensuring that the wall does not come tumbling down should the cornerstone be removed. It is not merely a question of averting desperate acts, but above all of providing support for those who are hit by these events.
The loss of a job may slowly and silently undermine a person’s physical and psychological well being. Isolation, loneliness and the lack of solidarity may gradually corrode the soul just like the woodworm gnaws on wood, making it crumble before our very eyes, thus revealing how far and detached we were from our neighbour.
In an era that has made independence and self-sufficiency its goal and way of life, this army of miserable unemployed individuals who are taking their own lives is a sharp reminder of just how much we stand in need of each other.
Updated on October 06 2016