'Anna Deserved Better': Mother’s Letter to EY Exposes Work Culture After Employee’s Tragic Death

Pune: A 26-year-old employee of Ernst & Young (EY) Pune, Anna Sebastian Perayil, has tragically passed away, with her mother attributing the cause to "work stress." Perayil, a Chartered Accountant from Kerala , had been with the multinational consulting firm for only four months before her untimely death.

Concerns Over Workload and Health

Perayil, who passed her CA exams in 2023, started her role at EY Pune as an executive in March 2024. According to her mother, Anita Augustine, the intense workload and high expectations took a severe toll on her health. Augustine revealed that Perayil faced anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress almost immediately after starting her job, but she continued to push herself, believing that hard work would lead to success.

Augustine criticized the company for promoting a culture of excessive work, highlighting the disparity between EY’s stated human rights values and her daughter's experience. In an email sent to the company's India head, Rajiv Memani, Augustine expressed her grievances, stating, “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.”

Check Out the Viral Post:

Augustine further detailed how Perayil worked "late into the night and even on weekends," revealing that her daughter was frequently given additional tasks beyond her official duties. “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 said.

Calls for Change in Corporate Culture

The grieving mother recalled instances where Perayil was assigned tasks late at night with tight deadlines. “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 added.

Describing the deteriorating impact on her daughter’s health, Augustine said, “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 EY’s India head, Augustine accused the firm of "glorifying overwork," explaining 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 expressed.

Augustine’s email called for a reassessment of the company’s work culture, stating, “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 also reacted to the incident, writing on X, “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 prioritize mental health especially for the new recruits who are transitioning from student life to work life.”