A 26-year-old employee of the multinational consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) Pune has tragically passed away due to what her mother claims was "work stress." She had started working at the firm just four months ago. Anna Sebastian Perayil, a Chartered Accountant from Kerala, passed away after being overloaded with work. Her mother, Anita Augustine, has sent an email to the company's India boss, Rajiv Memani, criticizing the firm for promoting excessive work and pointing out the gap between the company’s stated human rights values and her daughter's experience.
Perayil passed her CA exams in 2023 and started working at EY Pune as an executive in March 2024. It was her first job, and she worked hard to meet expectations. However, this took a serious toll on her health. Her mother said she started facing anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress soon after starting but kept pushing herself, thinking hard work and perseverance would lead to success.
Her mother said that many employees quit because of the heavy workload, and her daughter’s boss encouraged her to "stay and change everyone's opinion about the team."
“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,” Augustine added.
Her mother shared that Anna worked "late into the night and even on weekends." She said, "Anna told us about the overwhelming workload, especially the extra tasks given verbally, beyond her official duties. I advised her not to take on so much, but the managers kept pushing. She had no time to rest, working late and on weekends."
Augustine recalled a time when her daughter’s boss gave her a task at night with a deadline for the next morning.
She added, “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’.”
Augustine described how her daughter's health worsened: “Anna would come back to her room completely exhausted, sometimes collapsing on the bed without even changing, only to receive more messages asking for reports. She was giving her best, working hard to meet deadlines. She was a fighter and never gave up easily. We advised her to quit, but she wanted to learn and gain experience. Unfortunately, the pressure became too much for her.”
In her email to the head of the company in India, Augustine accused the firm of "glorifying overwork." She explained that her daughter, who was new to the "organization, location, and language," felt overwhelmed by both assigned and extra tasks.
“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 did not 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 now, she is no longer with us,” Augustine further expressed.
Augustine pointed out the clear difference between the company's human rights statement and its actions, asking, "How can EY truly live by the values it claims to uphold?"
The grieving mother said her daughter's death should be a "wake-up call" for the company: "It's time to rethink your work culture and take real steps to prioritize the health and well-being of your employees."
Shiv Sena UBT leader Priyanka Chaturvedi expressed disappointment on the entire incident and wrote on X, saying," This just broke my heart, Anna deserved better. Hope her mother’s gut wrenching letter to E&Y will get corporate houses to relook at their HR policies and prioritise mental health especially for the new recruits who are transitioning from student life to work life."