Anna Sebastian Perayil, a chartered accountant from Kerala, had joined Ernst & Young in March, as per a letter by her mother, which also mentions that nobody from the company even attended her daughter’s funeral. Anna died on July 20 this year.
The death of a 26-year-old woman working with accounting giant Ernst & Young in Maharashtra's Pune due to what her mother said was "excessive workload" has sent shockwaves among working professionals and raised concerns about stress at work, in which working hard is often confused with overworking at the expense of health.
A heartbreaking letter written by the mother of the 26-year-old Ernst & Young employee Anna Sebastian Perayil addressed to the accounting firm's chairman Rajiv on work culture blames the "four months of EY's callous attitude" for the death of her daughter.
Anna Sebastian Perayil, a chartered accountant from Kerala, had joined Ernst & Young in March, as per her mother's letter, which also mentions that nobody from the company even attended her daughter’s funeral. Anna died on July 20 this year.
Anna, described by her mother as a "fighter" who topped all her examinations in school and college, worked “tirelessly” at EY, “giving her all to meet the demands placed on her”, the letter said.
“However, the workload, new environment and long hours took a toll on her physically, emotionally and mentally,” Anna's mother Anita Augustine said, adding that Anna soon began experiencing anxiety and sleepless nights, and stress.
Anna's health started worsening at the time of her convocation in Pune, her mother said.
“On Saturday, July 6, my husband and I reached Pune to attend Anna's CA Convocation. Since she had been complaining of chest constriction upon reaching her PG late at night [around 1 am] for the past week, we took her to the hospital in Pune. Her ECG was normal, and the cardiologist came to allay our fears, telling us she wasn't getting enough sleep and was eating very late. He prescribed antacids, which reassured us that it wasn't anything serious. Though we had come all the way from Kochi, she insisted on going to work after seeing the doctor, saying there was a lot of work to be done and she wouldn't get leave,” she said.
The letter went on to say how Anna's "relentless" managers would reschedule meetings during cricket matches, assign her work, add to her stress, and gave her "dismissive" responses. Augustine said her daughter was told: “You can work at night. That’s what we all do.”
With Anita Augustine's unfulfilled wish of being able to protect her daughter, to tell her that her health and well-being mattered more than anything else, the incident has sparked discussions around work stress concerns.
Issuing statement in response to the development, the multinational consulting firm said, “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", they further added.
According to an American Psychological Association report, tracking your stressors, developing healthy responses and establishing boundaries are some steps to manage stress at workplace.
Tracking stressors: Keeping a journal for a week or two to identify which situations stress you out the most and how you respond to them, may help with stress management. The report suggests recording thoughts, feelings, and information about the environment, including the people and circumstances involved, the physical setting, and your reaction and taking notes on things like whether you raised your voice or not, got a snack from the vending machine or not or go for a walk can help you find patterns among your stressors and your reactions to them.
Develop healthy responses: Instead of trying to fight stress with fast food or alcohol, making healthy choices when you feel the tension rise, exercising, yoga - both considered great stress-busters - or any form of physical activity can be beneficial. Making time for hobbies, playing games with family and setting aside time for things that bring you pleasure is also advised. Getting enough good-quality sleep is also important for effective stress management.
Establishing boundaries: Establishing some work-life boundaries for self is essential. Making a rule to not check emails from home after your work hours, or not answering the phone during dinner are some ways to achieve the same. "Although people have different preferences when it comes to how much they blend their work and home life, creating some clear boundaries between these realms can reduce the potential for work-life conflict and the stress that goes with it," the report says.
Speak to your supervisor: Your boss is supposed to ensure a work environment that promotes employee well-being. Having open conversations with supervisors, not to list complaints, but to come up with an effective plan for managing the stressors you have identified. Getting clarity on what’s expected of you, getting necessary resources or support from colleagues, enriching your job to have more challenging or meaningful tasks included, or making changes to your physical workspace to make it more comfortable and reduce strain are some measures that can help in keeping a check on stress at work.