Failed Employee Suicide at Disneyland Paris

AndyS2992

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
A little grim, but an interesting insight to the possible working conditions of the resort.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...yland-Paris-worker-poured-petrol-himself.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...may-be-over-for-disneyland-paris-8960762.html

Probably more going on in his life than they are letting on but there we go. Two other workers have succeeded in their attempts in the last few years.

The terrible financial report of DLP is possibly putting a lot of pressure on the CMs.
 
Last edited:

Wilt Dasney

Well-Known Member
That's a pretty mercenary union they have there, using a worker's attempted suicide to pivot to criticizing the resort in the same statement.
 

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
That's a pretty mercenary union they have there, using a worker's attempted suicide to pivot to criticizing the resort in the same statement.
Shouldn't an attempted suicide at the workplace be sufficient reason to question working conditions?

I say bless the union for standing up for this fellow and for trying to prevent more of the same!
 

Wilt Dasney

Well-Known Member
Shouldn't an attempted suicide at the workplace be sufficient reason to question working conditions?

I say bless the union for standing up for this fellow and for trying to prevent more of the same!
I guess my earlier response stemmed from the fact that we have no comment from the worker in the story, so no way of knowing if his actions really resulted from working conditions. There's also the fact that the story (from a British news source) eagerly builds a whole narrative of "Disney Paris Employees Possibly Driven to Suicide Attempts by Working Conditions" while only barely acknowledging that there might be no connection with the event being reported. Maybe there are just different European conventions for these things than I'm used to. (Some might even say American labor unions, eviscerated over the last half-century, could learn to be a little more hard-ball.)

I didn't feel like getting into all that with my earlier post, so I opted for a shorter response that might have seemed unsympathetic to the poor fellow. Whether his actions are work-related or not, he clearly has been having a rough time.
 

Ralphlaw

Well-Known Member
Few suicide attempts are made because of current life circumstances. Yes, what's happening in your life today can contribute, but it's usually attempted by people with longer term issues, such as clinical depression, long-term drug or alcohol use, long-term physical health problems, and PTSD. I've been involved in the workings of the mental health system as part of my job for over 20 years. If all it took was bad working conditions or acute bad times, suicide attempts would be outrageously common during layoffs, divorces, etc . . . They're not. In my experience, few people without a mental health history will suddenly attempt suicide.

This is tragic, but blaming the employer is akin to blaming anyone else for a suicide attempt, whether it be co-workers, spouses, parents, police, politicians, teachers, or anyone or anything else. A few years back I was involved with a suicidal man who had a great job and a great family. His only strike against him was a history of depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder. Lack of sunlight, quite honestly, may have had more to do with this poor man than anything DLP did or did not do. Unrealistic expectations may also contribute, and perhaps he thought working at DLP would be one fantasy moment after another. Obviously, it isn't. Who knows what triggered it?

All of this is utter speculation, of course, but blaming the employer is usually pointless. The obvious question in response becomes: What should DLP have done beforehand? Time off? Anti-depressants? Eliminate all workplace stress? All of that is unrealistic over the long-term because eventually you have to go to work, you have to take your own responsibility for needed prescriptions, and we have to acknowledge that every job comes with stress or monotony or both. Employers are expected to make some accommodations, but you can't expect them to be an all-knowing and all-compassionate benevolent entity while expecting other employees to show up every day and do their jobs. I've worked with employees who have mental health issues (and seen litigation involving dozens more), and they can easily wear out everyone around them.

As I said, I feel sorry for the man, but a kneejerk "blame the employer" response is neither fair nor realistic. Instead, we should hope and pray that he gets the help he needs, whether it be counseling, medication, family therapy, light therapy, or simple attention from people who truly care. I hope he finds what he needs.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom