Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old chartered accountant hailing from Kerala, tragically passed away just months after starting her career at Ernst & Young (EY). She joined the globally recognized firm in March 2024, full of hope and ambition for her future but passed away just four months later, in July 2024. However, her sudden death has left her family devastated, with her mother (Anita Augustine) publicly holding EY accountable for what she described as “four months of the company’s callous attitude.”
Anna’s mother alleges that the overwhelming pressure and stressful work environment at EY played a significant role in her daughter’s untimely demise.
In a heartfelt letter addressed to Rajiv Memani, Chairman of EY India, Anita Augustine, mother of the late Anna Sebastian Perayil, expressed the overwhelming grief her family is enduring after the tragic loss of her daughter.
Anita’s letter sheds light on the grueling work pressures her daughter faced at EY, which she believes contributed to Anna’s untimely death. She described Anna as a hardworking, ambitious young woman who had recently passed her CA exams and was excited to begin her career at one of the world’s leading accounting firms. However, soon after joining, Anna began to experience intense stress, anxiety, and sleeplessness due to her demanding workload.
A Heartbroken Mother’s Letter
EY was Anna’s first job, and she was “thrilled” to join the company, her mother wrote. Describing her daughter as a “fighter”, Augustine said that she topped all her examinations in school as well as college, and worked “tirelessly” at EY, “giving her all to meet the demands placed on her”.
“However, the workload, new environment, and long hours took a toll on her physically, emotionally, and mentally,” Augustine said, adding that Anna soon began experiencing anxiety and sleepless nights, and stress. She wrote in her letter:
Heartbreaking news from EY Pune – a young CA succumbed to the work pressure and nobody from EY even attended her funeral – this is so appalling and nasty!!! pic.twitter.com/pt8ThUKiNR
— Malavika Rao (@kaay_rao) September 17, 2024
“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. That night, she returned to her PG late again. On Sunday, July 7th, the day of her convocation, she joined us in the morning, but she was working from home even that day until the afternoon, and we reached the convocation venue late.
That was my daughter’s great dream to take her parents to her convocation with her own hard-earned money. She booked our flight tickets and took us. It breaks my heart to tell you that even during those two days, which were the last we would spend with our child, she couldn’t enjoy them because of the work pressure.
When Anna Sebastian Perayil joined this specific team, she was told that many employees had resigned due to the excessive workload, and the team manager told her, “Anna, you must stick around and change everyone’s opinion about our team.” My child didn’t realize she would pay for that with her life.
Anna would return to her room utterly exhausted, sometimes collapsing on the bed without even changing her clothes, only to be bombarded with messages asking for more reports. She was putting in her best efforts, working very hard to meet the deadlines. She was a fighter to the core, not someone to give up easily. We told her to quit, but she wanted to learn and gain new exposure. However, the overwhelming pressure proved too much even for her.
Statement by Ernst & Young for Anna Sebastian Perayil
In a statement, Ernst & Young 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,” the EY India statement read.
“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,” the company added.
Conclusively, she added a powerful note on maintaining a healthy work culture in her letter: “It is time to reflect on the work culture within your organization and take meaningful steps to prioritize the health and wellness of your employees. This means creating an environment where employees feel safe to speak up, where they are supported in managing their workload, and where their mental and physical well-being is not sacrificed for the sake of productivity.”
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also reacted to the now-viral letter in a post on X, saying: “This just broke my heart, Anna deserved better.”
With the help of her letter, Anita Augustine also aimed to spread awareness, saying: “I hope my child’s experience leads to real change so that no other family has to endure the grief and trauma we are going through.”