EY under fire after 26-year-old employee dies tragically due to 'work stress'

Multinational consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY)has come under fire after the grieved mother of their 26-year-old employee took to social media to highlight their toxic work culture, days after the daughter died due to "work stress".

The employee, Anna Sebastian Perayil, was a Chartered Accountant from Kerala who had joined the company just four months ago.

Her mother Anita Augustine has now sent a letter to the head of their India branch - Rajiv Memani - highlighting the toxic work culture of the company and stating how human rights values are being missed by the firm.

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Mother calls out company for her daughter's death

In her letter, the mother said that Perayil gave her CA Exams in 2023 and joined the company in March 2024.

Because it was her first job, Perayil “worked tirelessly to meet the expectations" which impacted her physical, mental, and emotional health badly.

“She began experiencing anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress soon after joining, but continued to push herself, believing hard work and perseverance were the path to success," the mother said.

She added that since many “employees resigned due to the excessive workload,” the boss of her daughter asked her to “stick around and change everyone’s opinion about the team”.

“Her manager would often reschedule meetings during cricket matches and assign her work at the end of the day, adding to her stress. At an office party, a senior leader even joked that she would have a tough time working under her manager, which, unfortunately, became a reality she could not escape,” Augustine said.

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The grieving mother said that her daughter worked “late into the night and even on weekends”.

“Anna confided in us about the overwhelming workload, especially the tasks assigned verbally, beyond the official work. I would tell her not to take on such tasks, but the managers were relentless. She worked late into the night, even on weekends, with no opportunity to catch her breath," Augustine said.

"Her assistant manager once called her at night with a task that needed to be completed by the next morning, leaving her with barely any time to rest or recover. When she voiced her concerns, she was met with the dismissive response: ‘You can work at night; that’s what we all do’," she wrote in the letter.

EY employees fail to attendPerayil's funeral

“Anna would return to her room utterly exhausted, sometimes collapsing on the bed without even changing her clothes, only to be bombarded with messages asking for more reports. She was putting in best efforts, working very hard to meet the deadlines. She was a fighter to the core, not someone to give up easily. We told her to quit, but she wanted to learn and gain new exposure. However, the overwhelming pressure proved too much even for her," said the mother, in her letter.

“Anna was a young professional. Like many in her position, she did not have the experience or the agency to draw boundaries or push back against unreasonable demands. She did not know how to say no. She was trying to probe herself in a new environment, and in doing so, she pushed herself beyond limits. And now, she is no longer with us,” Augustine said.

Also Read:Ernst & Young (EY) India responds to employee Anna's death

She further spoke about how the company employees did not even attend the funeral of her daughter.

“This absence at such a critical moment, for an employee who gave her all to your organisation until her last breath, is deeply hurtful… After her funeral, I reached out to her managers but received no reply. How can a company that speaks of values and human rights fail to show up for one of its own in their final moments?” she said.

EY reacts to the letter

Reacting to the letter,EY in a statement said,"Anna was a part of the Audit team at S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global, in Pune for a brief period of four months, joining the firm on 18 March 2024. That her promising career was cut short in this tragic manner is an irreparable loss for all of us."

The company added, "While no measure can compensate for the loss experienced by the family, we have provided all the assistance as we always do in such times of distress and will continue to do so."

"We place the highest importance on the well-being of all employees and will continue to find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace for our 1,00,000 people across EY member firms in India," the company further stated.

(With inputs from agencies)