After a 26-year-old employee of Ernst & Young died, her mother blamed her company’s “excessive workload”.
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00:00A mother was devastated when she got a call saying her daughter had passed away.
00:04She said her daughter paid with her life for the workload at her very first job.
00:09The daughter, Anna Sebastian Perel, was just 26 years old.
00:14She was full of life, dreams and excitement for the future, wrote her mother, Anita Augustine.
00:20Anna belonged from Kochi in Kerala and she moved to Pune to work at Ernst & Young.
00:25EY is one of the big four accounting firms in the world
00:28and Anna started her journey as a corporate professional at this company.
00:32Anita said everything was new to her, the organisation, the place, the language
00:37and she was trying very hard to adjust.
00:40Away from her hometown and loved ones, Anna died four months after she started working.
00:45Anita said it was deeply hurtful that no one from her company,
00:49to which her daughter gave her role, attended her funeral.
00:52Her father, Sibi Joseph, also said that no one from the company helped bring Anna's body home.
00:58In a letter to EY India chairman, Rajiv Nimani,
01:01Anita wrote how dedicated her daughter was towards her job.
01:05I am writing this letter as a grieving mother who lost her precious child, she said.
01:10Anita said she didn't want any other family to endure the pain that her family had to,
01:14which compelled her to write the letter even though her soul is shattered.
01:18She described Anna as a fighter who excelled in everything she did since childhood.
01:23She topped her school, her college and passed her CA exams with distinction.
01:28After that, she found a job at EY.
01:31But she began experiencing anxiety,
01:33sleeplessness and stress soon after joining, said Anita.
01:37She also said the work hours were long and Anna was told at her workplace
01:41that many others had resigned due to the workload.
01:44But Anna, you must stick around and change everyone's opinion about our team.
01:48Said her team manager.
01:50Anita described an incident where Anna complained of chest constriction.
01:54She and her husband had gone from Kochi to Pune to attend Anna's CA convocation.
01:58She said that Anna had been complaining about
02:01chest constriction for a week and they took her to the hospital.
02:04While her ECG came back normal, the cardiologist did point out that
02:08Anna wasn't getting enough sleep and eating on time.
02:11After the doctor's visit, Anna insisted on going back to work, saying she wouldn't get a leave.
02:16Her convocation took place on 7th July and her parents flew back to Kochi after that.
02:21But this was the last time they hung out with their daughter.
02:2513 days later, on the 20th, Anita got a call saying Anna had passed away.
02:30The exact cause of her death was unclear.
02:32Anita said Anna couldn't enjoy their last meeting because of the work pressure.
02:37She mentioned that Anna's manager would reschedule meetings during
02:40cricket matches and assign her work at the end of the day.
02:44Anita said Anna would tell them that additional work would be assigned to her
02:48verbally beyond the official work.
02:50She would work late nights and on the weekends.
02:53And one time when she tried to flag it, her assistant manager said,
02:57you can work at night, that's what we all do.
03:00Anita said Anna would often come back home so tired
03:03that she didn't even have the energy to change her clothes.
03:06She would just collapse on the bed.
03:08When her parents advised her to quit,
03:10Anna refused because she wanted to learn and gain new exposure.
03:14She was not someone to give up easily, said her mother.
03:17Anita said Anna would never blame her managers because she was too kind for that.
03:21But she cannot remain silent.
03:23She said Anna's experience sheds light on a work culture that seems to glorify overwork
03:29while neglecting the very human beings behind the roads.
03:32Anna's death should serve as a wake-up call for EY,
03:35she said, while exhorting the company to take meaningful steps
03:39to prioritize the health and wellness of its employees.
03:42Social media users reacted strongly to Anita's letter.
03:45EY employed at least 80,000 people in India.
04:08After Anita's letter went viral, the company put out a statement saying
04:12that a promising career was cut short in this tragic manner
04:15is an irreparable loss for all of us.
04:18While no measure can compensate for the loss experienced by the family,
04:21we have provided all the assistance as we always do in such times of distress
04:26and will continue to do so.