Page 284 - Fundamentals of Management Myths Debunked (2017)_Flat

Télécom’s former chief ex-
chief executive officer of France CHAPTER 8 • Managing Change and Innovation 283
Télécom when the suicides took Change S Stress S Serious ecutive and two members of
place. Although France has a Effects his top management team.
higher suicide rate than any The complaint accused man-
other large Western country, this agement of conducting a
scenario was particularly troublesome. The spate of suicides high- “pathogenic restructuring.” Excerpts of the inspector’s re-
lighted a quirk at the heart of French society: “Even with robust port, although not made public, were published in the French
labor protection, workers see themselves as profoundly insecure media. It described a situation in which the company used
in the face of globalization, with many complaining about being various forms of psychological pressure in an effort to elimi-
pushed beyond their limits.” France isn’t the only country dealing nate 22,000 jobs over a two-year period. Company doctors
with worker suicides. Workplace conditions at China’s Foxconn, alerted management about the possible psychological dan-
the world’s largest maker of electronic components (including the gers of the stress that could accompany such drastic change.
iPhone, iPod, and iPad), were strongly criticized after 11 Foxconn Despite these findings, a company lawyer denied that France
employees committed suicide. Télécom had systematically pressured employees to leave.
Here is what recent surveys are telling us about employee Company executives realized that they needed to take dras-
stress: tic measures to address the issue. One of the first changes was a
new CEO, Stéphane Richard, who said his priority “would be to
• 75 percent of Americans say their stress levels are high or
moderate. rebuild the morale of staff who have been through trauma, suffer-
• 44 percent of Americans say their stress levels have gone up ing and much worse.” The company also halted some workplace
in the last five years. practices identified as being particularly disruptive, like involun-
• 81 percent of HR managers say that employee fatigue is a tary transfers. It is also encouraging more supportive practices,
bigger problem than in past years. including working from home. A company spokesperson says
• More than 50 percent of U.S. and Canadian workers say that the company has completed two of six agreements with unions
they feel fatigued at the end of a workday. At least 40 percent that cover a wide range of workplace issues like mobility and
of those workers say that their jobs made them depressed. work/life balance and stress. Despite these measures, another
• 20 percent of UK workers say they have taken sick leave France Télécom worker committed suicide. A union official sug-
brought on by stress, but 90 percent have lied about the real gested that “the man had struggled with being made to frequently
reason for staying home. change jobs.” The worker had written to management on several
• 30 percent of managers say they’re more stressed at work occasions about the situation and was believed to have had no
today than a year ago.
reply. France Télécom’s CEO, Stéphane Richard, promised a
• Reasons employees find work stressful: low pay, commut- thorough investigation into the suicide. “We need to analyze in
ing, excessive workload, fear of being fired/laid off, annoy- great depth and detail what happened. It is my intention that this
ing coworkers, and difficult bosses.
investigation will be particularly painstaking and transparent.”
As you can see, stress and its effects on workers are (and
should be) a serious concern for employers. When excessive Discussion Questions
pressure is placed on people from overwhelming demands or 8-22 What is your reaction to the situation described in this case?
constraints, they often feel they’ve got no choices or options. What factors, both inside the company and externally, appear
At France Télécom, the wave of employee suicides was cause to have contributed to this situation?
for concern. Trade union leaders blamed “the allegedly brutal 8-23 What appeared to be happening in France Télécom’s work-
management culture of a company which has transformed place? What stress symptoms might managers have looked for
itself over a decade from a ponderous state utility to a leading to be alerted to a problem?
telecommunications company.” However, for months, France 8-24 Should managers be free to make decisions that are in the best
Télécom management “dismissed the suicides as a contagious interests of the company without worrying about employee reac-
fad among its workforce.” Unions then criticized the company tions? Discuss. What are the implications for managing change?
for its poor choice of language. 8-25 What are France Télécom’s executives doing to address the
The Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation situation? Do you think it’s enough? Are there other actions they
of the company over accusations of psychological harass- might take? If so, describe those. If not, why not?
ment. The judicial inquiry stemmed from a complaint by 8-26 What could other companies and managers learn from this
the union Solidares Unitaires Démocratiques against France situation?