A Ministry of Labor investigation into the work environment at the Workforce Development Agency has found that its leadership fostered a high-pressure and unfriendly work environment, Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said today in a turnaround from its first investigation, which found that management had no “direct involvement” in the suicide of an employee.
On Nov. 4, an agency employee surnamed Wu (吳) was found dead of apparent suicide in New Taipei City, with subsequent speculation on social media saying that his supervisor, Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), had driven him to take his own life.
Hung, Occupational Safety and Health Administration Director-General Tzou Tzu-lien (鄒子廉) and Taiwan Occupational Safety and Health Link executive director Huang Yi-ling (黃怡翎) held a news conference today to announce the investigation’s results.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei TImes
The three main findings are as follows: Hsieh’s management style was inappropriate, Wu was bullied and Wu’s experiences in the workplace led to his decision to take his life, Hung said.
Hsieh’s management style was intimidating and put subordinates in continuous high-pressure situations, Hung said.
In addition, Wu, who was responsible for managing an employment services system, was overworked and under even more pressure from Hsieh, he said.
Furthermore, the system Wu managed exceeded necessary business requirements, he added.
Third, as Wu was responsible for managing all IT and cybersecurity tasks, he was overwhelmed and overburdened by his assignments, leading to sleep deprivation and exhaustion, Hung said.
Employee records show Wu arriving at work as early as 4am or 5am and he had previously mentioned to colleagues that he would kill himself if they could not complete their tasks, Hung said.
Corruption allegations against Hsieh were not within the scope of the investigation, Hung said.
The investigation is in its final stages and the ministry is to release the results this week, Hung said, adding that the goal was to understand Wu’s decision and the situation he was in.
The ministry’s initial investigation found that Hsieh was “not the direct cause” of Wu’s death, and instead attributed it to an “excessive workload,” “too much stress” and a “lack of support.”
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