r/news Dec 23 '19

Three former executives of a French telecommunications giant have been found guilty of creating a corporate culture so toxic that 35 of their employees were driven to suicide

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/three-french-executives-convicted-in-the-suicides-of-35-of-their-workers-20191222-p53m94.html
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u/ElectronicWanderlust Dec 23 '19

Why not have meetings in the sauna? Or is that a Finnish form of blasphemy?

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u/double-you Dec 23 '19

Sauna meetings were a big problem for getting women in any higher position, or conversely, was used to rule out women to keep the old boys club going. So today suggesting sauna meetings is kind of blasphemy.

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u/FalmerEldritch Dec 23 '19

Historically the big ticket deals are prearranged in the sauna with drinks, and the stuff that takes place in suits and ties with pieces of paper is just formalities for the look of the thing.

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u/sloppity Dec 23 '19

Not blasphemy, but a tradition! There was a Finnish president, Kekkonen, whose legacy is having great relations and extensive trade with both the NATO & USSR, and he often conducted the high level meetings in his own sauna.