La Poste aims to halt wave of suicides
A string of suicides at the
state-run post office, La Poste, has led its boss to announce new measures in
an effort to restore calm, although unions are angry he did not go further.
In the last six months, three
employees have killed themselves at work.
The most recent, a 42-year-old
executive, left a note complaining that "for three years, I have the
impression of being harassed and cornered by my superiors."
An unofficial list by employees
alleges there have been five suicides and one attempted suicide since January
alone.
These are in addition to eleven
suicides in 2011 and 17 in 2010.
La Poste is eager to avoid the fate
that hit France Telecom where more than 60 employees were believed to have
committed suicide over a three-year period due to work pressures.
The controversy forced deputy chief
executive Louis-Pierre Wenes out of his job in 2009.
On Monday, the head of La Poste,
Jean-Paul Bailly, announced four measures he hopes will help the situation.
"A big dialogue around
work" will be launched, he said, as well as a series of discussions with
unions to put in place "concrete measures."
A mediator will also be appointed
who can take decisions on individual situations.
However, unions were disappointed
that the measures did not include a suspension of the company's ongoing reform
programme.
"The transformation of the
company cannot stop," said Bailly. "There will not be a pause."
Unions reacted angrily to the news.
"We are sceptical about these
measures," Bernard Dupin of the CGT union told newspaper 20 Minutes.
"We wonder if management has
really taken account of what's going on in the organisation."
The SUD-PTT union denounced
"four miserable little measures" in a statement and said it would go
directly to the government, major shareholder in La Poste.
The union said the government
"could not stay silent" on the matter.
Reflections
1.
What
is the link to Crisis Management?
There
has been a string of suicides committed by employees of La Poste, France’s
postal system, of which the government of France is a major shareholder. In the
last 6 months alone, three employees of La Poste committed suicide while at
work. The latest employee to commit suicide was an executive whose suicide note
said that he felt he was being harassed and cornered by his superiors for the
last three years.
2. What stage of Crisis Management does the
system appear to be at?
This
situation is a risk for La Poste. If their employees go on strike because of
the pressure from the reform program that the company is going through, this
could become a crisis and effect La Poste’s business continuity.
3. How well does the system appear to
be handling the situation?
The
organization La Poste is not handling this situation very well. They have made
a statement saying that they will have discussions with the unions but they
will not put a stop to the reform program. It is obvious that the employees are
not handling the pressure well and the company needs to have a conversation with
employees on why they feel pressured and try to improve the situation. France’s
postal industry as a whole is not handling the situation well as they need to
step in to prevent a strike and stop of postal service. Unions have responded
angrily to La Poste’s statement but they need to work with the organization to negotiate
better working conditions.
4. What level of crisis preparedness does
the system appear to have?
The
system does not seem to have good crisis preparedness. The organization, La
Poste does not seem prepared to handle the unhappiness of its employees and is
not doing anything to improve their working conditions. The fact that an executive
committed suicides shows that even the leadership of the organization is not
aware of how to handle the situation. The organization does not have any crisis
communication in place to make their employees feel better in order to prevent this
from becoming a crisis.
The
postal industry is also not prepared for a crisis if the postal workers go on
strike. The French government is not prepared for a crisis that could stop
their business and cause disruptions in service for the French public.
Unions
are also not prepared for a crisis because they should have had a crisis plan
in place when the first suicide happened. They should have stepped in to
negotiate better working conditions at the first sign of a crisis for their
stakeholders, the employees.
5. What
personal reactions/feelings does the description trigger in you?
I
feel this situation is very sad. The employees that have lost their lives should
have had some where to turn to before they decided to take such drastic
measures. It is sad that they did not feel comfortable enough to take themselves
out of a bad work environment and instead chose to end their lives. This also
makes me feel very angry towards the company, La Poste. It seems that they are
not concerned about the safety and well being of their employees. The fact that
they will continue on their path of making change at the organization without
considering the negative impact that it is having on their employees is disheartening.
6. What advice would you offer to those
involved?
To
La Poste, I would say that they need to take these suicides as a clear signal that
their employees are not happy with the reform program. They should engage their
primary stakeholders, the employees and ask them for feedback on how their working
conditions can be improved and how they can continue this reform while still
making their employees satisfied at work.
The
government, who is a major shareholder in La Poste should step in and ensure
that there aren’t any more employee suicides. They need to put pressure on La
Poste’s management to make the working conditions better and get counseling for
employees that are feeling stressed by work or having suicidal thoughts.
The
employees of La Poste should speak up about what they are unhappy about or
leave the company if that means that they will be happier. Committing suicide
will not solve the problem for the other employees so they should seek counseling
and leave the company if that is their last resort.
The
industry as a whole should have a crisis management plan in case there is a
postal worker strike, whether that means hiring replacement staff or having
other contract agencies provide contingency postal services.
The
union should negotiate better working conditions for the employees and offer counseling
services to employees if they are afraid to ask for help at work in case it
reflects poorly on them.
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