HSBC manager writes viral post about overwork following heart attack
The tale of what looked to be a stress-induced heart attack has gone viral on LinkedIn, after HSBC contractor Jonathan Frostick vowed to “restructure my approach to work” following his near-death experience.
According to Frostick’s LinkedIn post, which has more than 200,000 ‘likes’ and nearly 11,000 comments as of Wednesday evening, the HSBC manager had started prepping for his working week at 4pm on a Sunday when his chest started to feel tight.
“I sat down at my desk at 4pm to prep for this weeks’ work. And then I couldn’t really breathe,” he wrote. “My chest felt constrained, I had what I can only describe as surges in my left arm, my neck, my ears were popping.”
Frostick, who manages a team of 20 at the bank, said his first thought was: “F*** I needed to meet with my manager tomorrow, this isn’t convenient”.
Accompanying a picture of him in a hospital bed, the post vowed to make some changes to his life, including not spending “all day on Zoom”, restructuring his approach to work and “not… putting up with any s#%t at work ever again – life literally is too short.”
Frostick’s is the latest tale of work stress becoming overbearing and damaging for employees.
Last month junior bankers at Goldman Sachs claimed they had suffered ‘inhumane’ treatment and workplace abuse after working up to 105 hour weeks, leading to a deterioration in mental health while employed by the US investment bank.
A HSBC spokesperson said: “We all wish Jonathan a full and speedy recovery. We also recognise the importance of personal health and wellbeing and a good work-life balance.
“Over the last year we have redoubled our efforts on health and wellbeing – through support and tools for working healthily as well as internal communications campaigns to raise awareness. 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.”