Bank manager’s heart attack prompts viral post about overwork

When Jonny Frostick realised he was having a heart attack this month, the first thing that occurred to the HSBC Holdings Plc contractor was: “I needed to meet with my manager tomorrow, this isn’t convenient.”

Frostick, who manages more than 20 employees working on regulatory data projects, chronicled his near-death experience in a viral LinkedIn post that had been viewed almost eight million times. The 45-year-old Briton is the latest financial employee to weigh in on the work-till-you-drop culture during a pandemic that’s obliterated the lines between office and home life for droves of workers.

“Whereas before I would finish sensibly anywhere between five and half six, I’d be finding myself there on a Friday at 8 o’clock at night exhausted, thinking I need to prep up something for Monday and I haven’t got time, and I started then to actually work weekends,” Frostick said in a phone interview from his home in Dorset. "That’s my responsibility. I think that was probably for me where it was those blurring of boundaries.”

“We all wish Jonathan a full and speedy recovery,” said HSBC spokeswoman Heidi Ashley. “The response to this topic shows how much this is on people’s minds and we are encouraging everyone to make their health and wellbeing a top priority.”

Frostick said he and colleagues spend a disproportionate amount of time on Zoom calls, and work days can stretch to 12 hours. The isolation of remote work also takes a toll, he said.

“We’re not able to have those other conversations off the side of a desk or by the coffee machine, or take a walk and go and have that chat,” he said. “That has been quite profound,

In the Help Desk I have worked in for the past 18+ years there has been many changes recently. The managers 4 bosses above him are all from India. Hired in a 2 year period replacing other long time people. I have also seen other depts disappear or big reductions. I suspect more downsizing coming. The manager and supervisor must know.

I have a list of co-workers who left and of others who are still around. 9 still here I recognize (I know none of the temp workers) and 7 others gone in less then 9 months with 2 more who will lose their jobs when we go back into the office as they moved out of the area while all of us are working from home even though they could keep working from home but they cost too much to someone from India....

The replacements if any are temps with 29/hrs now and are all back east or in India and Philippines. In the office I am in there are only 3 left plus a supervisor and the manager. We had 10 desks for the west coast and about 15+ more back east at one time.

I am planning on retiring this year. Plans delayed because of who is now president and all they talk about is higher taxes etc. The 30+ stocks I look at almost all nosed south starting the 1st week of February and are about 20% down. If Trump were president the economy would be roaring.

I used to be able to take a walk outdoors during my lunch hour. Now I’m working remotely and in front of a computer 7 1/2 hours a day. Each evening I spend thinking about what I have to do the next day and what I must finish before the end of the week when I e-mail a written report of what I’ve accomplished. This feels like non-stop work and competing with others who are working on-site and scheduling suck-up meetings with their supervisors.

I used to drive three hours a day commuting to and from work. At least then, I could focus on the drive, enjoy the scenery, and the pleasure of looking at something other than a computer and the view out one window all day long. This pandemic has made everyone’s life miserable. No wonder crime is increasing. People are fed up. I am suffering from an acute case of cabin fever.

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