Work Suicide, Sleepy Teenagers, Helicopter Parents

The Growing Problem of Work Suicides Guest: Sarah Waters, Professor of French Studies, University of Leeds, Author of “Suicide Voices: Labor Trauma in France” (forthcoming in 2020) A large company is bleeding money, so the executives decide to cut thousands of jobs. But the law won’t let them lay off that many people, so they set out to make life so unbearable the workers will just quit on their own. Dozens of those workers end up dying by suicide. It sounds like something out of a grim Victorian novel, but it happened in the late 2000s at the telecommunication giant France Telecom. And now those executives could go to prison. The two-month trial just wrapped up in France. What is a company’s responsibility to look after the well-being of its employees –while also focusing on profits? And to what extent was the situation at France Telecom a result of labor laws that made many of the company’s workers un-fireable?  Teenage Sleep Deprivation Leads to Bad Decisions Guest: Wendy Troxel, Senior Behavioral and Social Scientist, RAND Corporation Only one in ten American teens is getting enough sleep. The rest –those getting less than 8 hours a night on a regular basis –are at higher risk for lots of physical and mental health problems. They’re also more likely to make risky decisions. Parents, It’s Ok to Hover –Just Maybe Fly a Little Higher Guest: Laura Padilla-Walker, Professor of Human Development, School of Family Life, Brigham Young University Helicopter parenting is a polarizing concept. It’s either the truest way to show your kid you love him. Or the surest way to ruin his life. Neither is really true, according to research coming out of BYU’s Flourishing Families Project, which has been following 500 families for a decade as their children age from pre-teens to young adults. Empowering Religious Voters to Ask for Change Within Their Political Party Guest: Justin Giboney, Founder and President of AND Campaign Have you ever felt too progressive for conservatives, but yet too conservative for liberals? T