From the Readers

Young people face stress from work and family

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-05-17 14:42

Comment on "Another Foxconn employee commits suicide in S. China" (China Daily, May 12)

One can only feel sad to learn of healthy young men and women committing suicide. My own experiences stretching over 30 years working in a foreign country and establishing good relationships with people from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Bangladesh and Pakistan have proved one thing, and that is, the stress of working far away from home takes two forms: stress at work and stress from home. High expectations from both employer and family members do not make young lives happy or stable. More pay demands more effort, and when the little extra you get through overtime has to be remitted home because of incessant demands from family members, you quickly come to see that life is meaningless, and if on that fateful day your supervisor humiliates you in front of your co-workers, or worse, if you are female and your lecherous male supervisor has threatened to sack you because you refuse to respond to his overtures, you just snap. The tragedy is that almost all the suicides happened to some of the nicest people you can ever get to know.

There is good reason for employers and family members to communicate with each other regarding the welfare of young workers.

My heart bleeds for all these young people who struggle to make our loves so much easier, better, cleaner and more comfortable.

I shall not comment on the invitation to Taoist priests to say prayers at Foxconn.

Epei, on China Daily Website