Imagine you're a highly competitive person rewarded with fat checks... then the fat checks stop

[Sarah Ibarruri]

Imagine you're a highly competitive, results-oriented person whose job once rewarded your work with a fat check. Then the world's economy crashed. It's your fault. As a result you have new rules about what you can and cannot do. You're catching up with new compliance regulations and working harder than before, but you can't produce the money you once did. The means of production you once had are gone.

Perhaps it would be rash to call it a spate or a trend, but in the past six months a number of financial professionals from the United States to London to Hong Kong have committed suicide.

So it's time to talk about why.

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-wall-street-bankers-committ-suicide-2014-2

[jberryhill]

1. Suicide is a leading cause of death

Suicide is one of the top ten causes of death generally.

There are a gazillion people who work in the banking industry. In a lot of banking organizations, the title "vice president" is about as unusual as "associate" in a Wal-Mart, since they need signatory authority for a lot of common transactions.

So my question is: How does the recently commented-upon set of deaths compare to any other similar time period?

In other words, is this a trend in reporting or a trend in actual events?

[FSogol]

5. Agreed. I'm sure more soldiers and a higher percentage of soldiers committed suicide

in the same time period. However, DU and the media seem to want to get all tin-foily about it.

[Bluenorthwest]

15. Among Veterans, the rate is 22 a day, nearly one an hour.

Active duty is about one a day, 349 in 2010.

[FSogol]

17. Shameful. Also, completely undiscussed on DU because some tin foil heads would rather make up stuff.

[snooper2]

2. I mistook "check" for a totally different word, and was like

WTF is this article about


Dentists kill themselves more than financial workers according to businessinsider FYI-

http://www.businessinsider.com/most-suicidal-occupations-2011-10#3-dentists-are-167-times-more-likely-to-commit-suicide-17

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. lol Stop that. I'm drinking coffee here. :) nt

[PowerToThePeople]

3. They are having a tougher time stealing other people's money

so they off themselves?

[Brigid]

4. I'll save my sympathy . . .

For ordinary families who lost homes, jobs, and everything else in the financial crisis these predators caused, thank you very much. Not directed at you, Sarah, but at the fat cats this article says we're supposed to feel sorry for.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

7. I'm with you there. nt

[Lizzie Poppet]

8. I'm actually really upset about this.

Those inconsiderate shitheads might have landed on a stray cat...

[DetlefK]

9. Job-security is gone for bankers. Too much pressure to deliver.

There's less bank-jobs for the same amount of bankers. You could be replaced anytime by someone who is younger and willing to work for less.

I know someone who studied finances. He tells real horror-stories about the stringent tests that banks use to weed out applicants. (Math, languages, management-skills...)

If the bank can find someone whose skill-level is better than yours (big companies LOVE charting a worker's skill-levels) and who works for less money than you, you're a goner.

[AngryAmish]

10. I really read the title line of this post wrong the first time....

[pipoman]

11. I voluntarily left a 6 figure career for a $8 per hour job. .

Six years ago. ..not a single regret. .

[Sarah Ibarruri]

12. Serious? Would you mind sharing what happened? nt

[pipoman]

13. I blogged about it on DU2...there are like 5 annual updates on this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x41536

[Sarah Ibarruri]

14. That's wonderful! Thanks for linking me there. nt

[pipoman]

16. I guess 2011 was the last time I updated

I'm now Executive Chef for the organization. I am head of dining for 2 nursing homes, and GM of the restaurant. We will be opening a second restaurant late this fall, and a very progressive facility and program to keep nursing home eligible seniors in their own homes, which will provide food service.

My story is more about following my heart and finding my gift in my 40's...not about losing my job or livelihood unexpectedly.

[JI7]

18. i don't know the lives of these specific people involved, but i'm thinking of some greedy types

and how they treat some people horribly and like to show off with what they have. these people convince themselves they deserve and are better than others.

when things change and they realize they were never better and when their "friends" from the times when they had money stop being their "friends" they can't handle it.

again , i don't know anything about the individuals who committed suicide so this may not apply to them. it might even base a stituation of them feeling shame for not being able to provide for their family.