Corporate Culture: Mother blames ‘EY India’s callous attitude’ for daughter’s death

Last updated on September 26th, 2024 at 07:44 am

Social Media surges in support of the death of EY India’s employee Anna Sebastian Perayil, a young woman from Kerala, who untimely died due to chest constriction, physical exhaustion, severe anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress. The tragic death of Anna took place because of the callous attitude of EY India, says Anna’s mother. Anna Sebastian Perayil, joined the EY (Ernst & Young) Pune which is a multidisciplinary professional organisation, four months ago as an Executive. She has cleared her CA exams in 2023.   

It is reported that many employees have resigned their jobs in EY Pune due to workload and the company’s immense pressure over the employees. This led to the pressurisation of the employees who work. Anita Augustine, mother of Anna Perayil wrote in her letter in which she has listed out the pain and pressure that her daughter dealt with.

“Anna would return to her room utterly exhausted, sometimes collapsing on the bed without changing her clothes, only to be bombarded with messages asking for more reports. 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. Late into the night and even on weekends, Anna worked. 

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

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 didn’t 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 she is no longer with us”.

Anita’s letter expressed her rage against the corporate culture which glorifies the “workload and pressure”. She points out that EY India’s CEO Rajiv Memani who remains silent for the death of her daughter Anna. It clearly showcases the lack of empathy from EY India. She also mentioned that at her daughter’s funeral neither her colleagues nor her manager attended. She urges the companies stating that this is a wake-up call to change the unhealthy corporate culture and priorities must be given to the mental health and well-being of the employees. 

This traumatising incident sparked the debate over the untold corporate culture like,

• Unmanageable Workload
• Fear Of Career
• Lack of Mental support
• Unhealthy and toxic Management
• Overwork