Global Accountancy Firm Under Investigation Following Employee's Death Allegedly Due to Overwork
The Indian authorities have begun to probe into the work culture at a worldwide auditing company drawing from an employee's death linked to excessive work. The deceased, 26-year-old Anna Sebastian Perayil, tragically lost her life four months after beginning work at Ernst & Young's Pune office. This firm is a member of the famed "Big Four" accounting establishments. Her demise has been attributed to tiring labor by her mother, Anita Augustine, through a letter addressed to the firm's chairman in India and globally shared on social media platforms. According to Augustine, her daughter devoted her entire energy to meeting her work expectations. Still, the enormous load of tasks, unfamiliar environment, and lengthy working hours negatively affected her health.
Augustine said that Perayil started to grapple with anxiety, insomnia, and stress shortly after assuming her duties, which she covered up with her robust commitment to her job, believing that the overall hardship would yield success. Even more tragically, no Ernst & Young representative attended her funeral. On reading Augustine's heart-wrenching letter, the firm's India chairman, Rajiv Memani, through LinkedIn, expressed his profound sorrow for the regretful incident and promised no similar occurrence in the future. Memani highly regretted the company's absence at Perayil's final journey, which is a scenario unfamiliar to their culture. He emphasized their commitment to ensuring a safe workplace and highly prioritizing their employees' welfare.
However, earlier statements from Memani that doubted the overworking allegation drew online criticism. His comments that all employees need to work hard were not well received by the public. In an Indian Express interview, he stated that Perayil received an equal workload to others, concluding that the job demands didn't precipitate her death. A governmental representative, Shobha Karandlaje, announced the ongoing investigation into the unsafe working allegation.
According to Augustine, her daughter was honored for joining Ernst & Young after successfully completing her accountant exams in November. Recurrent calls from her superiors, weekend assignments, and arriving home totally worn out from the job were a common trend during her tenure with the company. Just before her death, Perayil was grappling with chest discomfort and was diagnosed with insufficient sleep. Augustine emphatically attributed her daughter’s death to unwavering demands and the effort to meet unreal expectations across the organization. She is deeply saddened by the loss of her daughter's great potential. Both Augustine and the accounting firm were unreachable for additional comments.
Concerning work-related issues, the "Big Four" accounting firms, including Deloitte, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, are notorious for long working hours and regular weekend assignments. Thus, the public attributes Perayil's untimely death to the highly competitive and toxic work culture in India. Despite being one of the world's fastest growing economies, India struggles to provide jobs for its young citizens. Compared to the global standards, Indians work longer. For instance, while Americans work for an average of 38 hours a week, Indians work for approximately 46.7 hours. This trend has sparked a controversial debate, especially after Narayana Murthy, an Indian tech mogul, sparked a controversy advocating for approximately 70 working hours per week to improve their global competition.
The incident has elicited numerous contentious comments supporting Augustine’s claims. Amid the rising concerns, Perayil's case shines a spotlight on the widespread issue of overworking in corporate India. As a neophyte in her job,Critics argue that she lacked adequate experience to resist extreme work conditions, causing her to overstretch her capability. According to analysts, her tragic ordeal underscores the urgency to address the prevalent issue of employee overworking in the corporate realm.