Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old from Kerala, tragically passed away in July, just four months after starting as a chartered accountant in EY's tax and statutory audit department in Pune. Her mother, Anita Augustine, recently sent a letter to Chairman Rajiv Memani, claiming Anna's death resulted from excessive work stress and harsh working conditions.

“She 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. Still, she kept pushing herself, believing that hard work and perseverance were the keys to success,” said Anita, Anna’s mother in the letter.

In an email sent to various executives at this one of the big four consulting firms, Anna's mother described how, during Anna’s CA convocation ceremony in early July, she complained of chest constriction after arriving at her PG late at night (around 1 AM) for the past week. Despite a normal ECG, the cardiologist noted that Anna had been lacking sleep and 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,” the letter added.

“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,” the letter read.

“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,” she added.

The company’s India boss has not yet publicly responded to the issue, and the company has not released an official statement.

Anna was overwhelmed with a heavy workload, including additional tasks assigned verbally beyond her official duties. Despite her efforts, she was told that working late into the night and on weekends was expected, with her concerns met dismissively: “You can work at night; that’s what we all do.” This constant pressure left her exhausted, with little time to rest, as she was frequently bombarded with demands for more reports.

According to Glassdoor, Chartered Accountants at EY earn between ₹8–₹10.1 lakh annually, including base and additional pay. However, some current and former employees have reported challenging conditions, particularly in tax and audit departments. They have claimed that while Partners focus on achieving project margin targets, employees are required to work overtime without officially recording these hours, leading to unpaid extra work. Additionally, managers are reportedly insensitive to health issues and often demand work during odd hours.

The letter also criticised the management for overloading newcomers with relentless, unjustifiable work, including weekend tasks. It highlighted how Anna, being new and overwhelmed, was exploited with both assigned and unassigned duties. The letter lamented that years of Anna's hard work were undone by just four months of EY's callous treatment.

“No one from EY attended Anna’s funeral. This absence at such a critical moment, for an employee who gave her all to your organization until her last breath, is deeply hurtful. After her funeral, I reached out to her managers, but I 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?” the letter stated.

“I believe EY has a profound responsibility to ensure the well-being of its employees. Anna’s experience sheds light on a work culture that seems to glorify overwork while neglecting the very human beings behind the roles,” the letter added.

A 2023 McKinsey Health Institute survey found that 59% of Indian respondents reported burnout, the highest globally. A July study by MediBuddy and CII revealed this number had risen to 62%, triple the global average of 20%, driven by work-related stress and poor work-life balance. While managers reported the highest holistic health scores, non-managers experienced significantly higher burnout.

This is not the first instance this year of work-related stress leading to death in a prominent consulting firm, especially from Maharashtra. Earlier in March, a McKinsey consultant, an IIM-IIT graduate, took his own life due to workplace pressure. Maharashtra, with the highest suicide rate in India, accounted for 13.3% of such deaths according to 2022 NCRB data.

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