At just 26 years old, Anna Sebastian Perayil, a promising Chartered Accountant, was laid to rest, leaving behind a wave of grief and unanswered questions. Employed by EY India’s audit division, SR Batliboi & Co., Anna had joined the company in March 2024, full of hope and ambition. The company, in a statement released on Wednesday, said it was deeply saddened by the death of Perayil, adding that all possible help has been extended to the kin of the deceased. Perayil worked in the audit division in the SR Batliboi & Co., a member firm EY Global since joining the company on march 18, 2024.
The details of this event that led to Perayil’s death came to the limelight after Anita Augustine, the mother of the deceased penned a letter to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani. It was a serious act of impropriety in which Augustine claimed that Perayil was given unrelenting work pressure which caused her death. Although the reason for his demise was not mentioned, it has been reported that Perayil had a cardiac arrest. Her mother also said that she did not see anyone from the company when she was burying her daughter.
“Anna would get back home completely drained to the point where she barely undressed and went to sleep while still receiving numerous messages demanding more reports as narrated by Augustine.” However, due to the enormous amount of work that was given to Perayil she continued working hard in order to acquire more knowledge in her career. But its managers implements a lot more than that and the strain of doing so becomes unbearable after sometime.
In reply, EY India conveyed its condolences saying, ‘It is extremely saddening to learn that after a bright beginning in such a short career, she had to go like this: ‘The fact her promising career was cut short in this tragic manner is an irreparable loss for all of us,’ The firm also assured that it works diligently to ensure health and well-being of its workforce, having 100000 employees in India.
This has started debates on work pressure within consultancies but, Work pressure still remains a real issue among consultancies. According to a study conducted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry conducted, self-employed Indians report burnout levels of 58%, which is higher than the global average of 48%.
Earlier in January, one of the former employees of the investment bank who worked for the bank as head of recruitment accused the company of forcing him to work extremely long hours demanding that he work more than reasonable hours which led him to suffer physical and psychiatric injuries and even develop feelings of suicidal intent.
In the viral letter, Anna’s mother expressed her regret for being unable to protect her daughter, to explain to her that her health is the most valuable thing in the world.
Instead, the letter was, “But it is too late for my Anna.”
