Family struggles to come to terms with Anna's death

 Thiruvananthapuram: The family and friends of Anna Sebastian Perayil, an audit and assurance executive at Ernst and Young (EY), Pune, are struggling to come to terms with her tragic death even as demands grow from various sectors for a better work environment to avoid such mishaps in future.

Rajiv Memani, chairman and managing partner of EY India, expressed deep sadness over the death of Anna. In his first response in a LinkedIn post, Memani stated his commitment to fostering a harmonious workplace.

Anna's mother Anita Augustine had penned a letter to Memani following her daughter's demise, in which she detailed the immense work stress and gruelling conditions her daughter endured at EY.

"Anna confided in us about her overwhelming workload, particularly the additional tasks assigned verbally, beyond her official duties. She worked late into the night, even on weekends, without any chance to catch her breath. Anna's death should serve as a wake-up call for EY," she wrote in the email.

Anita also expressed her dismay at the absence of any EY representative at Anna's funeral, stating that it was hurtful.

Memani, in his response, expressed his regret. "We missed being present at Anna's funeral. This is completely alien to our culture. It has never happened before, and it will never happen again." Memani stated he was deeply saddened as a father and could only imagine Augustine's grief.

Two weeks ago, Anna’s parents had travelled from Kochi to Pune for her graduation ceremony. At that time, she had complained of chest constriction. They sought medical attention, and her ECG results were normal.

Ann Mary, a friend of Anna Sebastian, recalled that she contemplated resigning or getting a transfer due to job stress. Two hours before her passing, she had confided in her school best friend about the toxic work environment.

"She recounted a late-night meeting that day. Her manager would boast that no one stays longer than a quarter on his team, challenging Anna to be the exception to this pattern. He took pride in this, a testament to the normalised toxic work culture. Despite Anna suffering from anxiety attacks, no one stepped forward to assist her," she explained.

"Anna planned to resign from the company. Her parents always supported her decisions. She had raised concerns with HR about her experiences but was met with cold indifference. Neither her manager nor the assistant manager showed any empathy towards her health. Anna's mother had also tried to contact both the manager and the assistant manager, but they never responded," she told mediapersons.

Another friend recalled that Anna would call her mother in tears almost every day.

Anna's family stated that she had requested a 15-day leave and was expected to return home by the end of July, coinciding with the completion of her auditing project. Although she was urged to come home sooner, doing so would have meant abandoning the audit halfway. Therefore, Anna chose to remain until the project was fully completed.

Anna's relative, who is her neighbour in Kochi, recalled her as a caring and loving child. She could have resigned; being a chartered accountant, she would have found a job anywhere. Perhaps she chose to stay with a company as reputable as EY, which, in her opinion, would have advanced her career trajectory.

Anna's father Sibi Joseph stated that although Anna had no previous health issues, she began facing challenges due to the demanding work culture at EY. He remembered that whenever they encouraged her to resign because of her stress, Anna maintained that the job provided valuable experience and she intended to remain for a while longer.

Reacting to the response from the chairman of EY India that the company would establish a forum to address these issues and ensure that such incidents do not occur again, he said;``It was only after we sent an email that the chairman learned of Anna's passing; the company had not provided any explanatory messages beforehand.”

The three-page letter from Anna's mother triggered widespread outrage on social media. It was not just a mother's sorrow over her lost daughter but an appeal to a corporate giant to change so that no other parent has to endure what Anna's family is going through.