Recently, the incident of a 26-year-old woman passing away after 4 months of working at a leading global corporation has caused a wave of backlash in public opinion. This information is still being updated and the issue behind it seems to be a question for the whole society, not just this woman’s family.
Specifically, the incident that happened to Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old Indian girl who passed away after 4 months of working at Ernst & Young (abbreviated: EY, one of the 4 leading auditing corporations in the world) shocked many people.
After that, Anna’s mother wrote a 4-page A4 letter to the Chairman of EY to expose the working culture at the company that indirectly pushed her daughter to the heartbreaking departure at the most beautiful age of her youth!
Previously, the girl passed away on the way to the hospital on July 20. But sadly, no one from the EY group attended her funeral.
Only Anna’s family, friends and relatives had to go through this extreme pain, to say goodbye to the unfortunate young girl.
Anna is a talented girl and always tries hard every day, photo: DSD
” When she was in school, she brought home a picture of her father, mother and herself on graduation day. She looked at it every day and put it on her desk ,” Augustine began her heartbreaking speech at her daughter’s funeral.
Previously, Ms. Augustine said that Anna was a true “warrior” who was always dedicated to her work. But because Anna was new to the job, she did not have the experience or ability to draw boundaries and resist unreasonable demands in the workplace.
In March 2024, the girl proudly showed off that she had passed the entrance exam to EY (one of the top 4 auditing groups in the world). Then, the pressure of work indirectly pushed Anna to the other world in a cruel and tragic way.
Mrs. Augustine was sad and burst into tears as she stood beside her daughter’s coffin. She said her last farewell to her little child:
” I have two things to tell you. My child, you have been wandering for many days. I promise you, all your friends are here today. All the people who love you are here. Your dear cousins, uncles and aunts.
My child, you don’t need to wander anymore. You have achieved your dream. You have worked at a leading company. Here you have done a great job as an auditor. You have completed all your tasks excellently. Your friends told me not to cry, that I should be proud to have a daughter like you. They said that everyone wanted to have a child like Anna , “said the mother, looking at her daughter’s coffin.
Before that, right after taking the job, Anna knew that many employees in her team resigned due to work pressure, no one could last more than 3 months. However, because EY was the first company, and also the world’s leading corporation, the girl always tried to go to work so as not to be affected in her career path.
“ Anna would come home exhausted, sometimes collapsing on the bed without changing her clothes, constantly bombarded with messages asking for more reports. My daughter worked late into the night, even on weekends, with no time to breathe,” Augustine revealed .
The manager once called her at night, giving her a task that needed to be completed the next morning, leaving her with little time to rest or recover. When she brought it up, she was told, “You can work at night. It’s the culture we all have .”
Shortly after, Mr. Rajiv Memani (Chairman of EY Group in India) spoke out about the incident on his personal page. He expressed regret for not being present at Anna’s funeral. However, this chairman caused outrage when he questioned the allegations that Anna died of exhaustion.
“She was assigned to work like any other employee. We don’t believe that work pressure can take her life,” the EY chairman told The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, the Indian government is launching a comprehensive investigation to find out the reason behind Anna’s passing.
The National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) has asked the Indian Ministry of Labour to provide a detailed report on Anna’s case. The NHRC has also expressed deep concern over the circumstances surrounding her story. The Indian Labour Minister has also confirmed that he is looking into the matter.
According to the NHRC, reports surrounding Anna’s death show that workplace culture can have a serious impact on the mental and physical health of young employees, especially those working in high-pressure industries such as finance, consulting and law.
The NHRC noted that stress, anxiety, sleeplessness and the relentless pursuit of impossible goals have led to “serious violations of human rights”.
