France Telecom: Corporate Restructuring and Employee Wellbeing

The France Telecom case series follows the evolution of the organization from a national telephone monopoly to a private company facing severe challenges. As increasing pressure mounted internally to make changes and 22,000 jobs were lost between 2006 and 2009, the culture at France Telecom shifted from one where employees were proud to work to one where the physical and mental wellbeing of some employees became increasingly fragile. Did corporate leaders push employees too far, creating unacceptable levels of stress and unhappiness? Editor’s note: This episode discusses suicide. If you or anyone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please use this list of suicide crisis lines around the world to seek help.