A 21-year old Woolworths worker, Zachary Hendricks, has tragically died of what seems to be a case of suicide, taunted by corporate bullying following the discovery of notes written by the young worker prior to his death. The series of notes written by the young man includes describing working for Woolworths as a ‘nightmare even Freddy Krueger wouldn’t want’.

The 21-year old passed away after his sedan smashed into a tree and burst into flames which took emergency services 30 minutes to extinguish, on the Bruce Highway in Midgee, 10km south of Rockhampton on Queensland's mid-north coast.

Hendricks was pronounced dead at about 4.45am on September 22 due to the blaze from the flames on the car.

Police said the investigations are ongoing.


Meanwhile, the young man’s grieving mother Dhanni told Daily Mail Australia that her son’s “awful job” at Woolworths provoked her son’s untimely death.

'A week and a half before he died, he was thrust into a management position without being trained,' she said.

'We knew about a year ago that the job was stressful, but we didn't know how bad it was - the new position was a whole other level.'

Woolworths has extended their deepest condolences to the family and has expressed their devastation towards Hendricks’ tragic passing. A Woolworths spokesman also told Daily Mail Australia that the company is reviewing the circumstances surrounding his employment up to the young worker’s passing.

'We've extended our deepest condolences to the family and have been in close contact over recent weeks to offer our care and practical support,' the spokesman said.

It can be noted that Hendricks started working for Woolworths about 18 months ago on a casual basis until he was put on a full-time contract where he had to work 38 hours per week.

Dhanni said her son has worked “38 hours too much” for the supermarket giant. She also noted that she wasn’t aware of how much the job has been impacting her son’s mental health until she discovered the notes he wrote prior to dying in a car crash.

'He wrote quite a few letters and they were all about the work,' she said.

According to Dhanni, Zachary wrote in one of those notes that his job was 'a nightmare not even Freddy Krueger would want'.

She also said that the complaints her son sent to HR “went nowhere”. According to her, her son had filed several complaints about bullying and excessive workload.

he Woolworths spokesman responded to these claims with: 'Woolworths is currently unaware of any workplace complaints being made by Zach.'

The grieving mother told Daily Mail Australia that her son’s death has left her family feeling “indescribable”.

Dhanni started a social media campaign with the hashtag #YWLM - Young Woolworths Lives Matter. he has described Woolworths as ‘worse than COVID’ and accused the supermarket chain of ‘corporate manslaughter’ in a Facebook post found in a Facebook group dedicated to her son.

Thousands of Facebook users have extended their condolences to the family through the page, with a number of them sharing their own experiences working for giant corporations.

A Facebook user said: 'I worked for the Woolworths group and had a very similar experience that led to me making an attempt on my own life’.

They went on to say: 'I was unsuccessful and given a second chance to get out but unfortunately people like your son did not get that. I am so very sorry for your loss.'

'This is heartbreaking, I left the company earlier this year after 11 years of service when my mental health had severely spiralled after years of consistent bullying,' added another.

Woolworths’ Full Statement:

“We're devastated by Zach’s tragic passing and our thoughts remain with his loved ones at this incredibly difficult time. Zach was a much loved member of our team and will be sorely missed. We've extended our deepest condolences to the family and been in close contact over recent weeks to offer our care and practical support. We understand the accident is the subject of a police investigation, which we will of course assist in any way we can. It would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment at this time.”

This article is based on an article written by Charlotte Karp for Daily Mail Australia.