It took social-media backlash, following a grieving mother’s letter to her daughter’s employer, for Ernst & Young to finally issue a statement two months after the death of its employee.
An overworked Anna Sebastian, who was employed in the audit team at EY’s Pune office, had died of work stress and exhaustion in July. Her parents who were aware of their daughter’s demanding work schedule were even more shocked that neither her managers nor her colleagues had attended her funeral. When efforts to contact her managers had failed, Sebastian’s mother wrote to Rajiv Memani, head of the multinational consulting firm describing how their hard working and sincere daughter had lost her life in trying to prove her mettle; and how the company needed to prioritise the health of its employees.
Following media outcry and heavy criticism of the insensitivity shown by EY, the company has finally issued a statement expressing sadness on the “tragic and untimely passing” of Anna Sebastian. While offering “deepest condolences” to the bereaved family, the statement admits that her death was “an irreparable loss” although she had been with the company for only four months.
This same statement could and should have come two months earlier. Its timing shows that EY has finally expressed condolence on the loss of a team member because of media pressure and backlash. The company has stated that it has taken the letter by Anne Augustine (Sebastian’s mother) with “utmost seriousness and humility”. The company says it has always placed importance on the well-being of its 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.”
Will EY and others in the corporate world wake up to the fact that their employees are also human beings who need sleep, food and kindness to thrive? Will EY stop glorifying overwork? We can only wait and watch.
