Family of Microsoft Employee Who Died on the Job Warns Tech Companies Not to Overwork Employees

The family of a 35-year-old Microsoft employee Pratik Panday, who died at the company's office in Mountain View, is speaking out against the tech industry's overwork culture. They are calling on companies to stop pressuring employees to work excessively long hours

Panday was found face down at his workplace at around 2 AM on August 20. The medical examination conducted by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner revealed that Pratik succumbed to cardiac arrest

Pratik's uncle, Manoj Pandey, remembers him as a brilliant and diligent individual who often worked late into the night. Manoj emphasised the importance of tech companies recognising the risks of overwork and providing employees with stress management support. He said that preventing overwork could potentially save lives and spare families immense grief

That will probably save a life. It's a lot of pain for the family when a loved one passes away, he told a media website. Pratik had punched in at his office at around 8 PM and was found dead in a courtyard on campus. His uncle remembers him as a very positive person overall

Pratik was from Indore and had immigrated to the US ten years ago for his studies at San Jose State University. He had worked with companies like Apple, Illumina and Walmart Labs before joining Microsoft in July 2020

Manoj informs that Pratik scanned his badge at 750 PM to enter the office, and almost 6 hours later was found lifeless in the courtyard of the Microsoft campus.

According to community leader Satish Chandra (via Palo Alto Daily Post) Pratik Pandey had confided in his roommate and colleagues about feeling overwhelmed due to managing multiple projects simultaneously. 

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