On 18 February 2014, a 33-year-old employee of JPMorgan Chase jumped to his death from the rooftop of the company’s 30-storey office building in Hong Kong. This is already the third suicide in three weeks for the financial institution.
In January, a 39-year-old Vice President of Corporate and Investment Banking Technology plunged to his death at the bank’s 33-storey London office. He joined the company since 2004.
Earlier this month, the body of a 37-year-old Executive Director of the Global Equities Group in the New York office was found in his suburban home. The Harvard graduate had been working in the company for the last 14 years.
The sad story of the victim
For the latest suicide, the victim studied in Canada and had been working in Hong Kong for a few years. In August 2011, he joined JPMorgan Chase and became an Associate in Asia Investment Banking Billing Liaison last year.
Friends told the media that he was a cheerful person but had been complaining lately about stress at work. His colleagues believed that he was informed about his retrenchment right before his suicide. He just bought a unit in a luxurious condominium two years ago. He wouldn’t have imagined that his company would fire him when he was paying the mortgage on his single income.
Being employed by the biggest bank in the US may have given him the taste of career success. Joining the circle of well-paid bankers may have misled him into buying a home at an unaffordably high price at the peak of the property market. But he certainly doesn’t deserve to end his life at such a young age for this common mistake that many others make.
On the same day of his death, by coincidence, CNNMoney published an article titled “Making 6 figures on Wall Street, but life stinks“, highlighting the problems of young executives in investment banking — long working hours, stressful environment, job uncertainties and guilty conscience. This is a far cry from what we see in the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, with the privileged few making big money, driving fast cars, dating sexy girls and taking drugs.
To what extent is the bank responsible?
With new technologies displacing manpower, JPMorgan Chase has announced its plans to cut 4,000 jobs in its consumer banking division. In addition, the plan to layoff 15,000 employees in the mortgage division has been brought forward much earlier than scheduled. The bank now tops the list of top ten job-cutting companies by trimming the most headcounts in the US.
Streamlining its workforce seems inevitable with the Department of Justice asking the bank to pay $13 billion as the settlement over mortgage bond sales that went bad. It is also facing the breach of antitrust together with five other international banks and preparing to pay another astronomical sum for the penalty.
Ironically, JPMorgan Chase has just given its CEO a 74 percent raise or a whopping $20 million for his 2013 compensation. This phenomenon in the banking industry is best summarized in that CNNMoney article: “Financial firms hold the power to write rules that disproportionately benefit a rich minority.”
That is why 46 percent of the world’s wealth is controlled by the richest one percent of the world’s population. That is what makes life so unfair.
The metaphor of snails
That evening I went for a walk in my neighborhood. A few children formed a circle around a big snail.
At first they did an experiment to see how the snail would react after they touched it. Feeling threatened, it withdrew the whole body into its coiled shell. After a few rounds, they intensified the game by stamping and kicking it.
“Get out of your shell and run away silly,” cried one child.
“No, it can’t. It moves everywhere with that bulky thing on its back. Snails die with their shells.” Another child explained.
The rest continued their bullying game. The poor thing was unable to defend itself except hiding inside its shell which was close to being smashed.
I was taken by a sudden sadness. We need a roof over our head like snails need their shells. The moment we take up a housing mortgage we are carrying the financial burden on our back whenever we go, and no matter what happens.
We toil day and night, endure any hardship at work, accept our boss’ unreasonable demand, and do everything we can just to be able to keep that shell house on our back. But even if we compromise, we may still have to sacrifice at the end. Some of us simply can’t escape our fate when the time comes. All because the rules of this world are written by the ‘rich minority’ who ‘hold the power’.
The life of a snail is miserable. Given a choice, I would rather be a cicada. It may not own a shell, but at least it can shed off its skin at the most critical moment to survive any foreseeable crises or unforeseen circumstances. Above all, it has the freedom to fly wherever it wants.
What do you choose to be? A snail or a cicada?
thanks for this deep thinking article. i’m not sure if i would be a snail or cicada cos snail gives me a sense of belonging. ever since relocating to this island, i have been renting and everything i bought was small size, small tv, small bed, small chair, and a sense that i would be moving anytime.. and as time pass, i’m tired of living in a small space with small items around me. i felt my feet is not rooted and how i envy people with a house no matter how hard they say it is to pay for it. because i want to come back to a place a called my home. so i hold on to the hope that i will own a place of my own in this island where i call my ‘home’. if i’m not destined to have a place here, i would say goodbye with grace and convinced myself that i have really tried my best.:-)
ps: did u save the snail?
I can understand where you are coming from when you say that you want that sense of belonging. I was also renting the first 5 years when I came to Singapore. Fortunately, the property market is a cycle and you can wait for the right time and the right price to buy if you have the patience.
P.S. Can’t save that poor thing. In my estate, it is not uncommon to see snails being crushed by motorists or cyclists by mistake, especially when they come out for some fresh air after heavy rain.
thanks for this deep thinking article. i’m not sure if i would be a snail or cicada cos snail gives me a sense of belonging. ever since relocating to this island, i have been renting and everything i bought was small size, small tv, small bed, small chair, and a sense that i would be moving anytime.. and as time pass, i’m tired of living in a small space with small items around me. i felt my feet is not rooted and how i envy people with a house no matter how hard they say it is to pay for it. because i want to come back to a place a called my home. so i hold on to the hope that i will own a place of my own in this island where i call my ‘home’. if i’m not destined to have a place here, i would say goodbye with grace and convinced myself that i have really tried my best.:-)
ps: did u save the snail?
I can understand where you are coming from when you say that you want that sense of belonging. I was also renting the first 5 years when I came to Singapore. Fortunately, the property market is a cycle and you can wait for the right time and the right price to buy if you have the patience.
P.S. Can’t save that poor thing. In my estate, it is not uncommon to see snails being crushed by motorists or cyclists by mistake, especially when they come out for some fresh air after heavy rain.
It’s interesting to note that the option to lose the shell is not discussed. Humans don’t die if they lost their shell, they just become bankrupt and ‘begin’ life like thousands of middle or lower income ppl. They tasted the high life which many of us commoners don’t even dream about. And now when they have a set back , you blame the bank? Throwing oneself out of a window is a weakness of the mind…
I agree with you that everyone should treasure their own life. Nonetheless, there is nothing wrong in securing a high-pay job and improving one’s living standard. And losing what you used to enjoy is much more painful than you never have it before.
Getting sacked may imply the pressure to tighten the belt, downgrade the home, change current lifestyle, etc. until landing the next job. The will to embrace uncertainties and accommodate changes and the ability to move on are critical here.
Let’s hope that the rest of the 19,000 employees can tackle it better.
It’s interesting to note that the option to lose the shell is not discussed. Humans don’t die if they lost their shell, they just become bankrupt and ‘begin’ life like thousands of middle or lower income ppl. They tasted the high life which many of us commoners don’t even dream about. And now when they have a set back , you blame the bank? Throwing oneself out of a window is a weakness of the mind…
I agree with you that everyone should treasure their own life. Nonetheless, there is nothing wrong in securing a high-pay job and improving one’s living standard. And losing what you used to enjoy is much more painful than you never have it before.
Getting sacked may imply the pressure to tighten the belt, downgrade the home, change current lifestyle, etc. until landing the next job. The will to embrace uncertainties and accommodate changes and the ability to move on are critical here.
Let’s hope that the rest of the 19,000 employees can tackle it better.
Why didn’t the bank employee sell the property when he lost the job?
It’s very extreme to commit suicide no? It’s not like he racked up millions of gambling debt with nothing to sell and no way out. If it was the latter I would understand why he would choose such a tragic end.
When one is still alive there is always a way. When there is no more life then it’s game over.
I thoroughly agree with you. Downgrading or even bankruptcy is just a transitional phase that is not a shame at all. Learn from the lesson and rise from where one falls always offer the opportunity to reach a higher peak in life in the future.
Why didn’t the bank employee sell the property when he lost the job?
It’s very extreme to commit suicide no? It’s not like he racked up millions of gambling debt with nothing to sell and no way out. If it was the latter I would understand why he would choose such a tragic end.
When one is still alive there is always a way. When there is no more life then it’s game over.
I thoroughly agree with you. Downgrading or even bankruptcy is just a transitional phase that is not a shame at all. Learn from the lesson and rise from where one falls always offer the opportunity to reach a higher peak in life in the future.