Even as the family of a 26-year-old employee — who died in Pune — have alleged that ”work pressure” and long working hours took her life, Ernst and Young Services Pvt Ltd (EY), where she had worked for four months, have refuted the contention.
Anna Sebastian Perayil, a chartered accountant who worked with S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global, at Yerawada in Pune, had died on July 20 while undergoing treatment at a city hospital. She was admitted there after she felt uneasy and complained of exhaustion. Her colleagues said they were told she had died of a heart attack.
The tragedy came to light only after a letter written by her mother Anita Augustine to EY’s India head went viral on Tuesday. In the letter, Anita Augustine highlighted how her daughter was allegedly under extreme work pressure, which affected her health and ultimately led to her death. She also highlighted the “new environment” of the company which could prove detrimental to the health of other employees in future.
The company however denied that “work pressure” could have led to her death.
“We have around one lakh employees. There is no doubt each one has to work hard. Anna worked with us only for four months. She was allotted work like any other employee. We don’t believe that work pressure could have claimed her life…,” Rajiv Memani, EY India chairman, told The Indian Express.
The company also issued a statement condoling the death of the employee. “We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian’s tragic and untimely passing in July 2024, and our deepest condolences go to the bereaved family,” Memani said in a statement.
“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. 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,” Memani told The Indian Express.
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Memani said he has responded to the letter written by Anita Augustine to him and promised all support apart from more steps to improve the system.
“We are taking the family’s correspondence with the utmost seriousness and humility. 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 100,000 people across EY member firms in India,” Memani said.
The letter written by Anita Augustine highlighted the conditions her daughter allegedly faced at EY. “I am writing this letter as a grieving mother who has lost her precious child, Anna Sebastian Perayil. My heart is heavy, and my soul is shattered as I pen these words, but I believe it is necessary to share our story in the hope that no other family will have to endure the pain we are going through.”
Anna had passed her CA exams in November 2023 and joined EY Pune on March 19, 2024, as an executive.
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“She was full of life, dreams, and excitement for the future. EY was her first job, and she was thrilled to be part of such a prestigious company. But four months later, on July 20, 2024, my world collapsed when I received the devastating news that Anna had passed away. She was just 26 years old,” the mother wrote.
Augustine said her daughter was always a fighter, from childhood through her academic years, where she excelled in everything she did. “She was a school topper, and a college topper, excelled in extracurricular activities, and passed her CA exams with distinction.”
Stating that her daughter put in her best at EY but was weighed down by the workload, Augustine said, “Anna worked tirelessly at EY, giving her all to meet the demands placed on her. However, the workload, new environment, and long hours took a toll on her physically, emotionally, and mentally. She began experiencing anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress soon after joining, but she kept pushing herself, believing that hard work and perseverance were the keys to success.”
An employee who has worked with EY for four years in Pune said, “All of a sudden we can’t use the broad term ‘work culture’. We have to look for policy level changes and make basic changes, like the work day shouldn’t extend beyond nine hours… maximum twice or thrice a month. What happens at the manager and team level too makes a difference. The team has to understand what employees are going through. Somehow I have been lucky and got to work with a good team.”
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Augustine said, “On July 6, my husband and I reached Pune to attend Anna’s CA convocation. Since she had been complaining of chest constriction upon reaching her PG late at night (around 1 am) for the past week, we took her to the hospital in Pune. Her ECG was normal, and the cardiologist came to allay our fears, telling us she wasn’t getting enough sleep and was eating very late. He prescribed antacids, which reassured us that it wasn’t anything serious. Though we had come all the way from Kochi, she insisted on going to work after seeing the doctor, saying there was a lot of work to be done and she wouldn’t get leave. That night, she returned to her PG late again. On Sunday, July 7, the day of her convocation, she joined us in the morning, but she was working from home even that day until the afternoon, and we reached the convocation venue late…”
Augustine said it was her daughter’s dream to take her parents to her convocation with her own hard-earned money. ”She booked our flight tickets and took us. It breaks my heart to tell you that even during those two days, which were the last we would spend with our child, she couldn’t enjoy them because of the work pressure. When Anna joined this specific team, she was told that many employees had resigned due to the excessive workload, and the team manager told to her, ‘Anna, you must stick around and change everyone’s opinion about our team’. My child didn’t realise she would pay for that with her life.”
Augustine said her manager would often reschedule meetings during cricket matches and assign her work at the end of the day. “Anna confided in us about the overwhelming workload, especially the additional 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…,” Augustine said.
