Radical Change Needed at France Telecom

France Telecom must instigate radical change in order to address the problems within its workforce, which has been plagued by a spate of suicides, a report claims.

The study, commissioned by the company’s management after it emerged that 43 employees had killed themselves since January 2008, made 107 recommendations after carrying out interviews with hundreds of employees.

The report, which was leaked to the International Herald Tribune, suggested the company call a halt to disruptive reorganisation, closely monitor psychosocial risk factors and introduce a network of internal mediators to help deal with employee issues.

France Telecom spokesman Jean Bernard Orsoni confirmed that the details contained in reports were correct but added: “We don’t have a magic wand that we can wave and just fix the problem in a few weeks.”

The news comes just a week after Stephane Richard took the helm at the beleaguered communications giant and sources say the new chief executive will need to move quickly in order to address the issues within the organisation, which is a quarter owned by the French state and as such exists in a  limbo between big business and civil service.

The new boos has already announced plans to simplify the company’s management structures and improve their human resources management.

The company will now be meeting with union representatives to discuss the implementation of the recommendations.

The report concluded that “It is indispensible that actions accompany the talk.”