Ex-EY employee shares workplace horror stories: 'Asked to work 18 hours a day, got calls at midnight'

Ernst & Young India chairman Rajiv Memani addressed the death of EY employee Anna Sebastian in a LinkedIn post yesterday, saying he was “deeply saddened” by the incident. Anna had joined EY India’s audit and assurance team in March this year. She died four months later. She was only 26.

In a letter to Rajiv Memani, Anna Sebastian Perayil’s mother, Anita Augustine, had called out EY’s work culture and said her daughter was burdened with “backbreaking work” to the point where she hardly got time to sleep. Most days, Anna worked late into the night, logged in on weekends, was assigned extra tasks, received frequent phone calls from her managers, and often reached her PG so “utterly exhausted” that she collapsed into bed without even changing her clothes.

Augustine blamed “overwhelming workload” for her daughter’s death - a charge denied by EY India chairman Rajiv Memani who, in an interview with the Indian Express yesterday, said that he did not believe “work pressure could have claimed her life.”

Memani did not address allegations of overwork in his LinkedIn post - but several current and former EY employees attested to Anna’s account and said the consulting firm, one of the Big Four, was notorious for overworking its employees.

“Terrible experience”

Responding to Memani’s LinkedIn post, one former EY employee spoke of his “terrible” experience with the firm.

The ex-employee said that a director at EY asked him to work 17 to 18 hours a day. When he reported the director to HR, his complaint received no resolution. “When I reported this to HR, she suggested it might be due to client demands. Even when trying to voice my concerns, my colleagues often mocked me during team meetings,” the person said.

He added that working onsite in Africa for six months was a “terrible experience” where his manager would make the team work at least 10 hours a day, even on weekends. Meetings were scheduled during Hindu festivals.

“My engagement manager made us to work from 9 AM until at least 7 PM, including weekends, for nearly two months straight. Meetings were often scheduled during Hindu festivals.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation worsened. I received calls starting at 8:30 AM and sometimes as late as midnight. I became so depressed that I resigned without another job offer,” the person said, highlighting the alarmingly high attrition rate at EY.

Union minister of state Shobha Karandlaje on Thursday said the labour ministry will investigate the death of 26-year-old Anna Sebastian.