I’m sitting in my office crying. I’m crying because I just read an article in the recent issue of New York Magazine about a student who plunged to his death by jumping out of an 11th floor window at his school 16 months ago. This is not the first time I’ve heard this story. The student attended the same school as my son. The student was distressed over a test he had taken that morning. He cheated on the test because he felt pressure to do well and he got caught. It looks like this student felt like there was no other way out.
I’m crying because I’ve been following the stories of the recent Foxconn suicides and reading the comments from co-workers who seem to understand why these workers killed themselves, saying “life is meaningless.” They discuss the 12-hour work days, harsh treatment of employees, and horrific working conditions at the factory. These workers feel like there is no way out.
I’m crying because my daughter, who is the same age that the student mentioned above was, came home from her school today distressed after doing poorly on a calculus test. She spent an hour feeling like these test results controlled her future; where she would go to college and what she would be able to achieve in life. And for an hour, she felt like there was no way out.
Certainly the stories of the student, the Foxconn workers, and my daughter are different, but at their core they are similar. They all deal with the pressure to perform and a feeling of a lack of control. And even though my daughter has gotten over her disappointment and has moved on to other things, it makes me wonder when the next poor grade will crush her spirit. It makes me wonder how she will respond to the pressures to perform in the workplace or the fear of losing a job.
In addition, it makes me think about what the pressure of work will look like in the future, how employees will be judged, and how much control employees will feel they have over their work situation. More employees may be able to work virtually and control their hours, but advancements in technology will make it easier to monitor an employee’s every move.
Will the future workplace offer employees more power and control or less? Will employees be more productive, happier, and less stressed out or more? Will we still be reading about workplace suicides? What do you think is the future of work?