NEW DELHI: Chartered Accountants are clamouring for work-life balance in the Big 4s after a mother claimed that her 26-year-old daughter, Anna Sebastian Perayil, died of excessive work pressure. Anita Augustine, mother of Anna, slammed EY for its work culture, which doesn't prioritize the health and well-being of its employees. Augustine also alleged that no one from EY attended her daughter's funeral, which took place just four months after she joined the firm.
Anna, who hailed from Kerala, had cleared her CA exams in November 2023 and joined the Audit team at S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global, in Pune on March 18, 2024. She had only worked there for four months before her untimely passing on July 20th, 2024.
According to Anna's mother, she had confided in her parents about overwhelming workload at EY, especially the additional tasks assigned verbally, beyond the office work.
"Her assistant manager once called her at night with a task that needed to be completed by the next morning, leaving her with barely anytime 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 wrote.
"Anna's death should serve as a wake-up call for EY. It is time to reflect on the work culture within your organisation and take meaningful steps to prioritise the health and wellness of your employees. This means creating an environment where employees feel safe to speak up, where they are supported in managing their workload, and where their mental and physical well-being is not sacrificed for the sake of productivity," Augustine said in a letter addressed to EY's chairman Rajiv Memani.
"Becoming a CA involves years of toil, hardship and sacrifice- not only for the student but also for the parents. Years of my child's hard work have been snuffed out by just four months of EY's callous attitude," Anna's mother added.
A former Big 4 employee who preferred to remain anonymous stated that in some departments, especially the audit branch, there is a heavy workload due to the nature of the job. "A lot of data mining and number crunching is involved in audit work, which makes it difficult and monotonous. In addition, the Big 4 firms are more revenue-driven than focused on encouraging employee welfare. Furthermore, making bonuses a large part of the salary package fosters unnecessary politics and a toxic culture in the Big 4," he said.
Reacting on the untimely demise of Anna, Rajat Mohan, executive director, indirect taxes, Moore Singhi, said, "Human life is of paramount importance and untimely death of one of our own has jolted the entire fraternity. Our Alma mater must interject and take cognisance of the grieving family’s letter. Strong message needs to be sent across all organisations that providing healthy workplace is not an option. Community at large needs to address the working condition for professionals."
Meanwhile, Abhishek A Rastogi, founder of Rastogi Chambers, stressed the need to adopt technology to enable work life balance.
"In today's technological era, it is essential for all companies and organizations to adopt strategies that improve work-life balance and enhance efficiency by leveraging the latest advancements in technology and enabling remote work opportunities," Rastogi said.
EY's response:
We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian's tragic and untimely passing in July 2024, and our deepest condolences go to the bereaved family.
Anna was a part of the Audit team at S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global, in Pune for a brief period of four months, joining the firm on 18 March 2024. That her promising career was cut short in this tragic manner is an irreparable loss for all of us.
While no measure can compensate for the loss experienced by the family, we have provided all the assistance as we always do in such times of distress and will continue to do so.
We are taking the family’s correspondence with the utmost seriousness and humility. We place the highest importance on the well-being of all employees and will continue to find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace for our 100,000 people across EY member firms in India.
