Death of Anna Sebastian Perayil: EY Chairman Rajiv Memani says: “I deeply regret…”

Amid the heated debate about Work stress and the sad death of EY Employee Anna Sebastian, EY India Chair Rajiv Memani has expressed regret that no one from the company attended Anna's funeral. In a post on LinkedIn, Memani said: “I deeply regret that we were unable to attend Anna's funeral. This is completely alien to our culture. This has never happened before and will never happen again.”
Memani stated that he is committed to a “harmonious workplace,” saying: “I would like to reiterate that the well-being of our employees is my highest priority and I will personally work towards this goal. I am fully committed to promoting a harmonious workplace and will not rest until this goal is achieved.”
In a tragic incident Anna Sebastian Perayila new employee at EY in Pune, is said to have died due to excessive work pressure. Her mother, Anita Augustine, wrote a long letter to Rajiv Memani expressing her concerns about the overwhelming workload of her daughter, a newcomer to the company. Augustine suspected that Anna ultimately succumbed to work-related stress. The letter went viral on social media and sparked an uproar.
Here is the full text of Rajiv Memani’s latest LinkedIn post dated September 19, 2024:
Many of you will be aware of the tragic death of Anna Sebastian, a young woman who worked in our Pune office, and the heartbroken letter her mother, Mrs. Anita Augustine, wrote to me.
I am deeply saddened and as a father I can only imagine Mrs. Augustine's grief. I have expressed my deepest condolences to the family, although nothing can fill the void in their lives. I deeply regret that we were unable to attend Anna's funeral. This is completely alien to our culture. Something like this has never happened before and will never happen again.
Over the last few days, I've noticed people commenting on some of our work practices in their social media posts. Creating a healthy workplace has always been very important to us and we place the highest priority on the wellbeing of our employees.
I would like to stress that the well-being of our employees is my top priority and I will personally drive this goal forward. I am fully committed to promoting a harmonious working environment and will not rest until this goal is achieved.
Problems with work culture
Many employees have taken to social media to share their own experiences of work-related stress in previous jobs that led them to leave those posts. Some have pointed out that Anna's death is the second such case in just six months, citing the suicide of Saurabh Laddha, a 25-year-old employee at another prominent global consulting firm, which was allegedly due to excessive work pressure. As companies across India try to do more with fewer resources, work pressure is perceived to be increasing.
Read also | Death of EY employee draws focus to work stress
According to a TOI report, this problem is not limited to India, as large parts of the US corporate world are facing similar challenges. In May, Leo Lukenas, a 35-year-old Bank of America employee, died of complications from a blood clot. Media reports said he had tried to quit his job because he was working too many hours a week, sometimes over 100 hours, which may have contributed to his health problems.
In response to these incidents, JPMorgan has reportedly begun limiting junior bankers' work hours to 80 hours per week – a first for the company. Bank of America has followed a similar pattern, with work hours already limited to 80 hours. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Bank of America is rolling out an internal platform to closely monitor individual employees' workloads.
Earlier this week, Rajiv Memani addressed EY employees in a message confirming that he had received a distressed email from Anna Sebastian Perayil's mother and had acknowledged her message “with utmost seriousness and humility.”
Memani stressed that the company attaches utmost importance to the health and well-being of its employees and pledged to recommit to providing a supportive, healthy and balanced work environment for all.
“I want to make this an ongoing dialogue with you to ensure we are continually creating a healthy workplace for everyone. We have multiple wellbeing programs and open communication channels across the company to ensure you always have a safe space to voice your concerns anonymously…” he said.