The Werther Effect: Foxconn's 12 Jumps
The Werther Effect originated from the famous German writer Goethe's "The Sorrows of Young Werther," which was published in 1774. After its publication, many people imitated the protagonist Werter's suicide, thus naming it the "Werther Effect."
From the perspective of social psychology, the Werther Effect is like an "influenza" of emotions. The media's sensational reporting on suicide news has a powerful suggestive and inducive effect on those who are teetering on the edge of life and death. A relatively typical example is that on April 1, 2003, after Leslie Cheung's suicide, the media's reports were exhaustive and highly sensationalized. As a result, within 9 hours from late that night to the next morning, six men and women in Hong Kong jumped off buildings to commit suicide, with five of them dying from their injuries. In that month alone, there were 131 cases of suicide in Hong Kong, an increase of 32% compared to March. Several deceased individuals left behind suicide notes clearly stating that their suicides were related to Leslie Cheung's act.
On the very evening when Foxconn Technology Group President Terry Gou inspected the Shenzhen factory, the "12th jump" by a Foxconn employee occurred this year. On the same day, Gou stated in the Longhua factory area of Shenzhen that the preliminary conclusion drawn by Foxconn, after discussions with psychological experts, believed that the series of employee suicide incidents were not directly related to work pressure or enterprise management, but rather caused by the inherent personalities, genes, and emotional factors of some employees.
On the 26th, Apple expressed that the company has a responsibility to ensure the safety of the working environment across the entire supply chain and ensure that workers are respected. They are conducting an independent investigation into how Foxconn is taking measures to address the jump-related incidents.