I always put to my OHS clients the option of stopping doing something, particularly if it is potentially hazardous. As in life, careers should always have an exit plan in case a job or project turns sour.

The misfortune in the France Telecome circumstance was one of timing. The restructure paralleled a major economic downturn. The company had the choice to change or wait it out. It chose to change at a time when job retention jumps to a high priority for workers. The global financial situation doubled the uncertainty of the workers.

Some of the France Telecome articles report that the company moved to a depersonalised call centre structure – a structure that can be fraught with high stress levels and harsh working conditions, if not introduced carefully.

Could France Telecome have tried to wait out the downturn and follow other companies with big redundancies and a corporate capital raising to control debt? Perhaps, but at least Louis-Pierre Wenes seems to have accepted responsibility for his decisions. It was a heavy cost to his employees and the families of the suicide victims, and it is now his cost to bear for the rest of his life.