How the death of a Pune-based EY employee exposed the toxic corporate culture at Big 4 firms – Firstpost

The death of a young employee of Ernst & Young (EY) India, allegedly due to work pressure, has thrown a spotlight on the toxic corporate culture at the Big 4 firms. A 26-year-old chartered accountant had died just four months after joining the global accounting firm in Pune.

The tragic incident came to light after a letter written by Anna Sebastian Perayil's mother went viral on social media recently, sparking a huge outcry and igniting a discussion about the exploitative work environment prevailing at these major accounting firms in India.

Let's take a closer look.

What happened?

In the letter circulated online by Anna's grieving mother, Anita Augustine, work stress and long working hours at EY are cited as the reason for the young woman's death in July.

In a letter to Rajiv Memani, Chairman of Ernst & Young India, Anita urged the company to change the work culture that “seems to glorify overwork while neglecting the human behind the role.”

She wrote that the family was deeply hurt because no one from the organization “attended Anna's funeral.”

After the letter sparked an uproar on social media, the Union Labour Ministry said it was investigating the case. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Anna Sebastian Perayil. A thorough investigation into the allegations of an unsafe and exploitative work environment is underway,” Labour Minister Shobha Karandlaje wrote on X.

Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Anna Sebastian Perayil. A thorough investigation into allegations of an unsafe and exploitative work environment is underway. We are committed to justice and @Ministry of Labour has officially accepted the complaint.@mansukhmandviya https://t.co/1apsOm594d

— Shobha Karandlaje (@ShobhaBJP) 19 September 2024

She was responding to a post by former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar demanding an investigation into allegations against Anna's family that there was an exploitative work environment at Ernst & Young India.

The company also responded to the viral letter, saying it was “deeply saddened” by the employee's death and that it would “continue to look for ways to improve the situation and ensure a healthy workplace.”

“Toxic” work culture at the Big 4 in India

Anna's untimely death has shone a light on the lack of work-life balance among employees at the Big Four accounting and consulting firms – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Deloitte, EY and KPMG.

Several social media users spoke about their experiences with the allegedly toxic work culture in these companies.

“My sister (who works at one of the Big 4) was confronted with the problems. She went to the dentist and [the] “A supervisor messaged me and told me to at least respond immediately and start work in a few hours and got annoyed when she said she couldn't respond all day (on a non-working day),” one user tweeted.

Another X user wrote about the “core beliefs” of managers at Big 4 companies. He said they believe that people should not be called by name because they are a “resource” that does not deserve any empathy or humanity. The user claimed that people who left work promptly at 6 or 7 p.m. were “mocked” for working “half-day shifts.”

The user claimed that managers were fostering a culture of “fear” in the workplace.

Fundamental beliefs of Big4 managers:

1. Don't refer to people by name. They are a “resource” and therefore do not deserve empathy or humanity.

2. If a project requires 10 people, 4 should be used to increase profitability. When resources have to work… https://t.co/aUH1R5MSc2

— Hardik Rajgor (@Hardism) 18 September 2024

Long working hours and high work pressure characterize these consulting firms, which pay high salaries even at junior level. According to a mint Employees are reportedly expected to work 16 hours a week, attend frequent meetings, and spend weekends preparing pitches to clients.

However, this trend is causing young professionals to quit their jobs within a few years. Consultants said mint Attrition in the Indian consulting industry last year was estimated at 20 to 22 percent at the lower levels and 10 percent at the middle and upper levels.

“I had to go to the client six days a week, spend two to three hours on the road every day, come back in the evening and sit back down at my laptop. The work also spilled over into weekends, as I was in the risk and compliance team and worked for a telecommunications client, and escalations occurred almost every day,” a former employee of one of the companies, who left his job after three years, told the financial newspaper.

A senior partner at one of the Big Four companies acknowledged that hospitalizations among younger employees were not uncommon, as they were expected to work 14 to 16 hours a day in their first few years.

After Anna’s death, an employee who had worked at EY in Pune for four years said, Indian Express“Suddenly we can't use the broad term 'work culture' anymore. We have to look for changes at the policy level and make fundamental changes like the working day should not be longer than nine hours… two or three times a month maximum. What happens at the manager and team level also makes a difference. The team has to understand what the employees are going through. Somehow I was lucky and was able to work with a good team.”

A representative of Deloitte India said mint in an email that the company is offering hybrid working to its employees. “We have also introduced wellbeing as part of the goals. The requirement is to take at least two days off every quarter and this is shown in a burnout dashboard.”

According to the financial newspaper, KPMG said the company had taken various measures as part of its wellness initiatives, including counseling for its employees and their families and regular health checks.

Some social media users have pointed out that a culture of overwork is prevalent in most multinational companies (MNCs) in India. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), India is the country with the second highest number of overworked workers.

A problem beyond India

The problem of toxic work culture at Big 4 companies is not unique to India. Last September, Spain decided to fine the Big 4 companies €1.4 million after employees complained that they were forced to work up to 16 hours a day.

This came after the Spanish Ministry of Labour began investigating the working practices and conditions at these consultancies. A former employee of the Madrid-based consultancy PwC said Euronews At the time, he worked 12-hour days and had little free time after work. He said he didn't even have time to go grocery shopping and ended up eating fast food for every meal.

The long hours at these companies now seem to have become the accepted norm. Four Indiana University Kelley School of Business graduates who graduated in 2015 reported working over 45 hours per week at their respective Big 4 firms. The EY and Deloitte employees reported working an average of over 50 hours per week, and the PwC employee said she works 70 to 80 hours per week during peak season. The KPMG employee said she typically works 40 hours per week, which can stretch to 50 to 70 hours during peak season, according to the Indiana University Women in Business website.

The work culture at these Big 4 companies has been scrutinized before. A 27-year-old Indian employee of EY Australia fell to her death from the terrace of the company's Sydney building in 2022. According to Daily Mail Australiashe had complained to friends that her colleagues at EY were “mean and racist.”

Her death had led to accusations of racism and a toxic working atmosphere in the company.

In 2011, a young Chinese woman working in PwC's Shanghai office died of acute meningitis. Although there was no evidence that her death was related to work-related exhaustion, several people blamed overwork for her death, reported China daily newspaper.

Employees in China said that while the Big Four paid well, they were notorious for overworking their employees. “Working overtime is normal at the Big Four. It's like a culture. They give you a project and set a deadline, but it's impossible to finish it without working overtime,” said a junior accountant at Ernst & Young at the time.

Big 4 in India

The Big 4 firms started out as accounting and auditing firms. Today, they have expanded their offerings to include technology services, thereby increasing their presence in India.

Deloitte and EY each employ around 100,000 people in the South Asian country. PwC employs around 50,000 people and KPMG over 40,000.

Deloitte has 18 offices in seven major cities in India. The other three Big 4 firms also have more than 10 offices in India.

With contributions from agencies