- Anna Sebastian Perayil, 26, joined EY’s Audit team in Pune in March 2024.
- She was told to prove herself by handling the heavy workload.
- Just four months later, it cost her her life.
- FYI: EY India’s revenue is ₹11,500 crore from FY2023 and is the No 1 Big 4 Firm in India.
- In a letter to EY India’s Chairperson Rajiv Memani, her mother exposed the toxic culture of overworking.
Big dreams
Anna passed her CA exams with distinction in November 2023.
On 19th March 2024, she left her hometown Kerala to join EY Pune, as an Executive in the Audit and Assurance team.
Like most of the newcomers, she was thrilled to be part of the prestigious EY, the leader in the Big 4 space…Of course, until reality started creeping in.
EY’s toxic work environment and managers
When Anna joined that specific team, she was told that many employees had resigned in the past due to the excessive workload.
The team manager told her, “Anna, you must stick around and change everyone’s opinion about our team.”
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.
Also read: Former Big 4 employee shares about working with a stressful & toxic manager
This is the problem at EY and other Big 4s
1. Working long hours was normalized
Anna’s manager would often reschedule meetings during cricket matches and assign her work at the end of the day, adding to her stress.
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.”
Despite her parents’ advice to quit, she kept pushing herself. She believed that hard work and perseverance were the keys to success.
2. Unreasonable deadlines
Anna was working very hard to meet the deadlines. She worked late into the night, even on weekends, with no opportunity to catch her breath.
She 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.
But Anna was a fighter to the core, not someone to give up easily.
3. Physical and mental health are adversely affected
…..But your body can only endure so much.
Anna began experiencing anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress soon after joining.
When her parents reached Pune to attend Anna’s CA Convocation, they found out that their daughter had been experiencing chest constriction for the past week.
Why? She wasn’t getting enough sleep and was eating late at night.
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 a leave.
However, the overwhelming pressure proved too much even for her on 20th July 2024.
Also read: This Big 4 Service Delivery Centre quietly fired 300+ staff
A grieving mother’s request
Her mother writes,
“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.
It is time to reflect on the work culture within your organization and take meaningful steps to prioritize the health and wellness of your employees.”
And do you know what’s worse?
No one from EY even attended Anna’s funeral, after all the hard work she put in for the company.
Anna’s mother continues, “I wish I had been able to protect her, to tell her that her health and well-being mattered more than anything else. But it is too late for my Anna.”
Wrapping up…
Anna’s death sheds light on a work culture that seems to glorify overwork while neglecting the very human beings behind the roles.
The culture isn’t limited to EY; it’s promoted in almost every corporate organization. We should stop romanticizing the idea of working all day, every day.
Also, your health is your priority, do not neglect it.
