'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 mor attributing cause to "work stress." Perayil, a Chartered Accountant from Kerala , h been with multinational consulting firm for only four months before her untimely death.

Concerns Over Worklo 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 mor, Anita Augustine, intense worklo 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 le to success.

Augustine criticized company for promoting a culture of excessive work, highlighting disparity between EY’s stated human rights values and her daughter's experience. In an email sent to company's India he, Rajiv Memani, Augustine expressed her grievances, stating, “Her manager would often reschedule meetings during cricket matches and assign her work at end of day, ding to her stress. At an office party, a senior leer even joked that she would have a tough time working under her manager, which, unfortunately, became a reality she could not escape.”

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Augustine furr detailed how Perayil worked "late into night and even on weekends," revealing that her daughter was frequently given ditional tasks beyond her official duties. “Anna told us about overwhelming worklo, especially extra tasks given verbally, beyond her official duties. I vised her not to take on so much, but managers kept pushing. She h no time to rest, working late and on weekends,” Augustine said.

Calls for Change in Corporate Culture

grieving mor recalled instances where Perayil was assigned tasks late at night with tight delines. “Her assistant manager once called her at night with a task that needed to be completed by next morning, leaving her with barely any time to rest or recover. When she voiced her concerns, she was met with dismissive response: ‘You can work at night; that’s what we all do’,” Augustine ded.

Describing deteriorating impact on her daughter’s health, Augustine said, “Anna would come back to her room completely exhausted, sometimes collapsing on bed without even changing, only to receive more messages asking for reports. She was giving her best, working hard to meet delines. She was a fighter and never gave up easily. We vised her to quit, but she wanted to learn and gain experience. Unfortunately, pressure became too much for her.”

In her email to EY’s India he, Augustine accused firm of "glorifying overwork," explaining that her daughter, who was new to 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 experience or 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 company’s work culture, stating, “It's time to rethink your work culture and take real steps to prioritize health and well-being of your employees.”

Shiv Sena UBT leer Priyanka Chaturvedi also reacted to incident, writing on X, “This just broke my heart, Anna deserved better. Hope her mor’s gut-wrenching letter to E&Y will get corporate houses to relook at ir HR policies and prioritize mental health especially for new recruits who are transitioning from student life to work life.”