TORONTO -- Jonathan Frostick has spent a lot of time rethinking his outlook on work and just how misplaced some of his priorities were.
Last Sunday afternoon, he was at his desk prepping for what would鈥檝e been a busy workweek as a program director at an investment bank in the U.K.
But suddenly, he couldn鈥檛 breathe. He was having a heart attack.
As his chest tightened, his ears popped and pain surged through his left arm he was only thinking about work.
鈥淚 needed to meet with my manager tomorrow, this isn鈥檛 convenient,鈥� Frostick on the networking site LinkedIn, as he laid in a hospital bed. But after his near-death experience, he鈥檚 pledging some big changes.
鈥淚鈥檓 not spending all day on Zoom anymore. I鈥檓 really not going to be putting up with any s#%t at work ever again - life literally is too short.鈥� These were just some of the vows the HSBC employee made and they鈥檝e since led to a groundswell of support from people online.
The epiphany, which Frostick detailed in post last week, has been liked more than 285,600 times as of Sunday and garnered nearly 15,000 comments from all over the world, with many offering their support.
The post resonated at a time when many are facing increased levels of , stress, mental issues and insomnia due to the pandemic. And it also comes as countless workers are re-thinking their occupations and just how much time they鈥檙e .
Scores of people commented that they too were heart attack or stroke survivors, with one person saying they were 45 and led to their own 鈥渄rastic change in behaviour.鈥� Many praised Frostick for his candidness and wished him a speedy recovery.
In what could be described as chutzpah, he even tagged his own employer in his now-viral post. And last week, HSBC spokeswoman Heidi Ashley 鈥渨e all wish Jonathan a full and speedy recovery鈥� before acknowledging the post鈥檚 impact.
鈥淭he response to this topic shows how much this is on people鈥檚 minds and we are encouraging everyone to make their health and well-being a top priority.鈥�
While recovering, Frostick also told the outlet that the pandemic and working from home had blurred the line between his private and work life.
鈥淲hereas before I would finish sensibly anywhere between five and half six, I鈥檇 be finding myself there on a Friday at eight o鈥檆lock at night exhausted, thinking I need to prep up something for Monday and I haven鈥檛 got time, and I started then to actually work weekends,鈥� Frostick said in a phone interview to BNN Bloomberg.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 my responsibility. I think that was probably for me where it was those blurring of boundaries,鈥� said Frostick, who also blamed himself for the neglect of his health which led to the health scare.
But he hopes and expects his employer won鈥檛 retaliate or have his post reflect poorly on them. 鈥淚f an organization didn鈥檛 want to employ me because I鈥檇 actually taken a moment to reflect, and capture this, then that鈥檚 probably not the right place for me to be working.鈥�
In his post, Frostick, who has three young children, said he wants to ensure every day counts for something and pledged to 鈥渟pend more time with my family.鈥� He also told BNN Bloomberg that he hopes his example continues to serve as a wake-up call to others.
鈥淚 owe a responsibility to myself and other people,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his happened to me, this could happen to you. You need to change that.鈥�
