CM Attempts Suicide

[dagobert]

Screamscape.com posted an article about a CM who attempted suicide:

http://www.screamscape.com/html/disneyland_paris.htm

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/ ... 296859885/

Something has to be wrong at DLRP's human resources. Are the working conditions that bad at DLRP?

[davewasbaloo]

Yep, I posted this on Facebook, it is pretty bad. I do think perhaps DLP is not the Happiest Place on Earth?

[ford prefect]

Not good at all, since we do not (and never will) know the whole story it would be wrong to jump to conclusions.

The only assertion that can be made is that ALL employers need to recognise that staff are under enormous stress and some will snap if they are not managed in a caring, considerate and supportive way.

I am aware of a similar occurance when a university comtemporary of mine attempted suicide due to work pressures.

Sadly it is not limited to DLP cast members.  We need to watch out for and look after all our colleagues

[davewasbaloo]

It is true fp, it can affect anyone. Mental health issues are likely to affect one in four people in their lifetime.

I imagine being a CM in DLP is more stressful than the other parks due to juggling all the languages and cultures. Plus there are a lot of guests who seem really frustrated when you cannot speak their language well.

[pussinboots]

Are you implying he was driven to the ledge over linguistic issues?

[davewasbaloo]

No, I am saying though it probably adds to the stress of the job, and the negative behaviours we see more prevelence of in DLP compared to the other resorts.

[dagobert]

Having seen guests screaming at CMs, I can imagine that such things add to the stress of the job. Especially nerved parents can be very rude to CMs. Last year a CM was attacted by a furious mother near TOT, because the child wasn't big enough for the ride.  

The language is another problem. Many visitors are getting angry when CMs don't understand them properly.

I don't know if Disney pays fair wages to their employees, but it is said that the wages are low compared to the work to do. That can be very frustrating.

[Adam]

Unfortunately, media coverage does make events such as this appear rare and also isolated to DLP. In reality, many companies suffer the same situation with their staff, but being such a high profile and "happy" location, the perception is that this is out of the blue. With such a huge number of staff members, it is highly likely that a number of cast members are suffering from personal issues, as is the case in many businesses, especially those related to customer service like DLP. However, most incidents in business don't get reported in this way.

I am sure there are policies, staff and support in place at DLP that have helped many individuals with issues, but when events such as this occur at high profiles businesses, they envitably attract publicity.

[pussinboots]

Exactly. "Suicide at Disneyland" makes for a more snappily ironic story than "Suicide at IBM."

[DopeyDad]

I was so glad to here you say that Adam, as a Mental Health service manager, every time I see a title like that I shudder at the thought of what people must make of mental health problems. What people make of DLRP is the least of it although you're exactly right Puss to point out the cynical use of such stories by certain papers. The only real issue is that we can all be affected by Mental Health, and it happens more than most of us would care to realise. I don't mean that disparagingly, it's just that it's hard to go through each day fully aware of how difficult life can be for many people. Personally that's part of the attraction of DLP for me and my wife (another mental health nurse). I do think there is a danger of belittling the issue when a paper focuses on that it happended at DLP. Just what do they expect, Disneys magical sunshine to wipe away all the ills of the world? Never mind that, as Fordprefect says lets just ry to watch out for each other and have understanding for those who are suffering and hope we recieve the same should it ever happen to us.

[Sulley]

I work in a large factory and over the past 2 years we have had 3 suicides, so in happens in any place of employment really.

[Aveen2008]

This is really sad and I am just pleased that the man didn't go through with it and that hopefully he can be helped. I really feel for him and anyone in that position.

[Javey74]

The way I see it, which might sound blunt, is that working within Disney should not be about the money, if that's the problem then get out..  :roll:

In my job as a Day Care Centre Manager I am on half the pay doing the same job as a Manager in the same position working through the local Council.  What keeps me in my job... I'll tell you, it's called 'Satisfaction'..  

Personally money is only part of a job and is classed as the fundemental, but it's the satisfaction what keeps you going in your job keeping you inwardly motivated, which I find is more rewarding than the money on a lot of occasions.

People who don't have job satisfaction do not last long in their work no matter how good the money is. This is because whatever money they get, their lifestyle changes to suit and then they just become accustomed to it. The money aspect is then forgotten about. The person then ends up going from one job to another, and the main reason is; 'None Job Satisfaction'..  :roll:

In relation to working at DLP, some of the work is obviously seasonal, but Disneyland Paris employs around 8,000 cast members from all over the world during the Winter period, and up to 12,000 during Summer, with full-time, part-time, seasonal positions and student internships in the entertainment and leisure professions. With a work force that size there are bound to be some occasions like this one, which is small in comparison unlike other companies that I know of where there have been fatal accidents, lots of disputes aswell as suicides with a workforce of under 2000, but because they are not a well known company and nobody really knows them, no one batters an eyelid..  :roll:

To me this is a story that you must put into a certain perspective..  :|

[Timbo]

We know so little about what brought this person to this state of mind , I think it is foolish to speculate that DLP is to blame . An incident at the park may have been the tipping point for someone who had a lot of personal problems outside of work , no one can say what the reason is ,  so to sensationalise the story is just as bad as the tabloid press who do the same !
It is very sad but we are in no place to really pass comment .