“It’s true that hard work never killed anybody, but I figure why take the chance.” The origin of this cheeky quote, often found on teenagers’ T-shirts, is at a Washington dinner in 1987. The self-deprecating quip came mid-speech from then-US President Ronald Reagan who was often targeted for being “lazy and lethargic” and loving his afternoon naps. It is not ageing well in a world where the toxic productivity treadmill is gathering speed. 

Unending work hours, the current default for hard work, are indeed killing people. Very young people. A 26-year-old chartered accountant employed with EY in Pune reportedly died from her workload earlier this week. Anna Augustine was just four months into her first job at the audit and consulting firm, one of the global Big Four.

‘She Kept Pushing Herself’

“She worked tirelessly at EY, giving her all to meet the demands placed on her. However, the workload, new environment, and long hours took a toll on her physically, emotionally, and mentally. She began experiencing anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress soon after joining, but she kept pushing herself, believing that hard work and perseverance were the keys to success,” Anna’s grieving mother Anita wrote in a letter to EY chief Rajiv Memani. She wrote how Anna’s managers dumped work on her at odd hours because they wanted to watch cricket matches. When she raised concerns about being unable to rest, she was told working nights was normal and that is what she should do. 

The modern rat race has ensured that working long hours is seen as a badge of honour. It is often normalised by leaders people look up to. Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes pride in barely sleeping because he works almost round the clock. Although the PM allows that such punishing workaholism is not for everyone, it inspires many to egg others on with his example at the peril of their health. Business tycoon Narayana Murthy believes young people should raise productivity and work harder, at least 70 hours a week. 

The argument here is not against hard, productive work. It is a cavill against the yardstick, which routinely is the number of hours and not the content of the job done. Never in human history have young white-collar workers toiled so relentlessly in service of corporate goals (read profits).

The Inescapable White-Collar Grind

Slave-driving employees was a managerial trait confined once upon a time to sweatshops and informal shop floors. But now white-collar grind is particularly overdone, especially in the finance and consulting sectors. Others such as law firms and even some non-profit foundations aren’t far behind. 

Outrage engulfed Wall Street in May when a 35-year-old Bank of America associate died after logging multiple 100-hour weeks. The banking industry already had work-hour restrictions, which were put in place a decade ago after a sleep-deprived intern died of a seizure. A Wall Street Journal investigation showed that “long hours and deference to bosses’ commands, no matter how unreasonable, are the norm industrywide”. Novice workers were always at the receiving end. 

Overwork and burnout risk have spread to unexpected fields. Elite footballers in Europe are contemplating a strike after more matches were added to their annual schedule. The warning came from Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who is expected to play as many as 75 games for club and country in the 2024-25 season. “It is too much,” Rodri was quoted as saying on Tuesday. “Not everything is about money or marketing. It is about the quality on show.”

Backbreaking Work, Everywhere

Club owners, regulators and broadcasters are naturally happy to add matches in pursuit of revenues and profits. That even superstar sportspersons feel the heat of organised greed says something. Financiers would see it as elevating productivity and sweating assets. But as Rodri quipped, “When I am not tired I perform better.” 

Back-breaking work in other areas that was hardly visible in public discourse is now in focus. Rising demand for maternity leave and benefits has put the spotlight on unpaid household work done by pregnant women, especially in tradition-bound villages. The setting may be different, but the work afflicted on household novices (read young brides) is similar to what Anna went through at EY.  

Greed At All Levels

There is no end to greed and it is stacked up from the supervisors at the lowest level, whose job it is to extract the most from their workers, all the way to the top of the food chain, the fat return-seekers who put up the dough. As Arun Maira, former chairman of BCG, argues here,” the social and business culture of greed for more wealth, in which they are all locked, will not be easy to change. But it must be changed to make the world better for everyone”. At the moment, it feels like wishful thinking. The pandemic-inspired introspection and debate around work, supervision, management, automation, lay-offs and living has fizzled out. Amazon, which cut 27,000 jobs in 2023, reverting to a five-day work-week perhaps is the tail end of pandemic-induced corporate forbearance. 

The pressure will only increase as artificial intelligence proliferates in the workplace. Human beings, whose productivity and quality of work depend on their physical and psychological state, will not be able to match always – on AI’s evenness and steady state. For companies, it eliminates the need to spend on maintaining the physical and psychological health of their workers. It’s cost-effective, productive, and more often than not, anti-human. So are certain managerial practices.

(Dinesh Narayanan is a Delhi-based journalist and author of ‘The RSS And The Making Of The Deep Nation’.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author 

New Delhi:

Amid an uproar over the death of a 26-year-old employee at tax consultancy major Ernst&Young (EY) allegedly due to work pressure, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday suggested a 40-hour work week. Anna Sebastian Perayil, a chartered accountant (CA) from Kerala who worked at EY’s Pune office for four months, died this July. Her mother, Anita Augustine, wrote to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani this month, flagging the “glorification” of overwork at the multinational consulting firm.

Taking to his official X account, Mr Tharoor, who is a Member of Parliament from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, said Anna passed away after a cardiac arrest, following “four months of deeply stressful seven-day weeks of 14 hours a day” at the Big Four accounting firm.

He said he had a “deeply emotional and heartrending” conversation with her father, Sibi Joseph. 

“He (Anna’s father) suggested, and I agreed, that I raise the issue of legislating, through Parliament, a fixed calendar for all workplaces, whether in the private sector or the public, that would not exceed eight hours a day, five days a week,” Mr Tharoor said.

“Inhumanity at the workplace must be legislated out of existence with stringent punishment and fines for offenders. Human rights do not stop at the workplace,” the Congress MP wrote.

Had a deeply emotional and heartrending conversation with Shri Sibi Joseph, the father of young Anna Sebastian, who passed away after a cardiac arrest, following four months of deeply stressful seven-day weeks of 14 hours a day at Ernst&Young. He suggested, and I agreed, that I…

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 20, 2024

He also said he will raise the matter at the “first opportunity” during the next session of Parliament, which is expected to be held in December.

“Advised Her To Quit”: EY Employee’s Father

Anna Sebastian Perayil’s father spoke to the media this week and said she had to work through the night, till 12.30 am.

“We advised her to quit, but she insisted that this stint would provide valuable professional exposure,” Siby Joseph said.

He also claimed the issue of extreme work pressure was mentioned before the senior officials of the EY, but no action was taken.

“She had complained to the assistant manager, but they insisted on working even at night,” he said.

The family alleged that the company responded only after her mother’s letter went viral.

“We are not planning to move legally, but we don’t want anyone else to face the same fate. We don’t want the newbies joining such corporate companies to face similar situations,” Mr Joseph said.

Anna’s mother, Ms Augustine, had also said in the letter that no one from the company had attended her funeral, which the family found deeply hurtful.

EY On Employee’s Death

As the issue snowballed, EY on Wednesday issued a statement saying it was deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian’s “tragic and untimely” passing in July 2024.

It said it works with about 1,00,000 people at its member firms in India and that Anna had worked at one such firm –  S R Batliboi – for four months.

“Since the death, EY has been in touch with the family, helping them but it is only now that her family has chosen to write to the company, complaining about the “excessive workload”, the accounting giant said.

EY India Chairman On Anna Sebastian Perayil’s Death

EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani also issued a statement on Thursday and said the fact that no one from the company attended the funeral is alien to their culture and that he “would not rest” until the objective of nurturing a harmonious workplace is accomplished. 

In a statement posted on LinkedIn, Mr Memani said that, as a father, he could understand the anguish of the woman’s mother.

“I am deeply saddened and as a father, I can only imagine Ms Augustine’s grief. I have conveyed my deepest condolences to the family, although nothing can fill the void in their lives. I truly regret the fact that we missed being present at Anna’s funeral. This is completely alien to our culture. It has never happened before; it will never happen again,” he said.

The EY India Chairman said he was aware that people had commented on some of the company’s work practices on social media and emphasised that the company places the “highest importance” on the well-being of its employees.

“I would like to affirm that the well-being of our people is my top-most priority and I will personally champion this objective. I am absolutely committed to nurturing a harmonious workplace, and I will not rest until that objective is accomplished,” he added.

The Union government has said it is investigating the circumstances that led to Anna’s death. 

Days after the death of Ernst & Young (EY) employee Anna Sebastian Perayil, allegedly due to “overwork”, an old video of BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover talking about toxic work cultures has resurfaced on social media. In the video, the former Shark Tank India judge shared his decision to quit EY within a day, despite receiving a Rs 1 crore package.

The clip shows Ashneer Grover explaining how he exited EY on his very first day. “I walked into the office, looked around and pretended to have chest pain to get out,” Mr Grover said. He justified his actions by describing the office atmosphere as lifeless, referring to the employees as “mare huwe” (dead) and “laash” (corpses).”

However, he also put forward a controversial view that the best offices are those deemed “toxic” because that’s where, according to him, work gets done. “If anyone is saying an office has a toxic culture, then that one is the best,” Ashneer Grover said.

The video was shared by billionaire industrialist Harsh Goenka, who slammed Ashneer Grover for what he described as promoting a “toxic work environment”. “It’s baffling to see anyone advocate for a toxic environment,” Mr Goenka wrote on X, adding the hashtag #AnnaPerayil.

It’s baffling to see anyone advocate for a toxic environment. #AnnaPerayil
Your views? pic.twitter.com/QhPnCeKhxq

— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) September 19, 2024

Anna Sebastian, a 26-year-old chartered accountant who joined EY’s Pune office four months ago, died in July, reportedly after enduring extreme work pressures. Anna’s mother, in a letter, claimed her daughter died due to “overwork” and accused the company of neglecting the well-being of employees.

The grieving mother also said that no one from EY attended the funeral and urged the company to reassess its work culture to prevent such tragedies in the future. “I hope my letter will bring real change so that no other family has to suffer what we have,” she wrote.

In a statement, EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani addressed the 26-year-old’s death and promised that he “will not rest” until the company creates a truly harmonious workplace. “I am absolutely committed to nurturing a harmonious workplace, and I will not rest until that objective is accomplished,” he wrote on LinkedIn. He also expressed regret that no one from EY attended Anna’s funeral, calling it “completely alien to our culture.”

New Delhi:

A Bengaluru-based techie has shared his wife’s horrific experience working at Ernst & Young (EY). Aakash Venkatasubramanian explained how his partner quit her job at EY due to the company’s “toxic work culture”, often demanding 18-hour workdays. Mr Venkatasubramanian’s LinkedIn post came days after the death of a 26-year-old EY employee allegedly due to “overwork”.

“My wife quit EY just because of the toxic work culture,” Mr Venkatasubramanian wrote, “and if she had not quit, I don’t know what would have happened to her.” He went on to explain that the normalisation and glorification of 18-hour workdays by many multinational companies (MNCs) in India have created a harmful environment for workers. 

The techie condemned the disparity in work expectations, saying the same MNCs would not do that outside India. “Indians are being seen as donkeys to offload work to, and India is seen as a huge factory willing to operate 24x7x365,” he wrote in his post. 

He also criticised the government’s lack of intervention, saying, “The Indian government is happy to take tax from us without ensuring the bare humane conditions to work.” They (the government) don’t help taxpayers when they are laid off, but would “happily collect the taxes from us when they aren’t even giving us the basic necessities,” he added.

“Let this be the last death,” he said. 

Anna Sebastian, a consultant, died four months after joining EY. Her mother, Anita Augustine, wrote a letter to EY India’s chairman, Rajiv Memani, accusing the company of fostering a culture that “glorifies overwork.” Ms Augustine claimed that no one from EY attended her daughter’s funeral, despite her death being linked to the company’s demanding environment.

Anna, who passed her Chartered Accountancy (CA) exams in late 2023 and joined EY’s Pune office in March 2024, had been struggling with anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress due to long work hours. Her mother described how Anna’s enthusiasm for her first job quickly turned into an experience of exhaustion and pressure. Despite warnings from her family to quit, Anna pushed herself. However, the demands, including working nights and weekends, placed on her proved too overwhelming, leading to her death. 

Amid growing concerns, the Union Labour Ministry has announced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the 26-year-old’s death. Minister of State for Labour Shobha Karandlaje confirmed that the ministry was looking into allegations of an unsafe and exploitative work environment at the company. 

Cochin:

Anna Sebastian Perayil – the 26-year-old Ernst and Young employee who died of “work-related stress” – was “getting hardly any sleep and was unable to eat proper food”, her father, Sibi Joseph, was quoted by news agency IANS. Mr Joseph said his wife and he had advised Ms Perayil to quit, but “she said she would continue to work… as this is a reputed firm”.

Mr Joseph said his daughter – engaged in an audit of Bajaj Auto – would work till well past midnight each day and “used to get back to her paying (guest) accommodation by 1.30 am”.

“She used to complain about this often… it reached a point we told her to quit, but she said she would continue to work. In July we took her to a cardiologist and, after a check-up, he said she was healthy but lacked proper sleep and proper food,” Mr Joseph told IANS.

He said the letter his wife wrote to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani was meant to ensure that even though their daughter had died, “such a thing should not happen to any other person”.

“We are not going to take legal steps against the company,” he added.

Mr Memani has denied any suggestion that “work pressure” led to Anna Perayil’s death, pointing out EY has around 100,000 employees across the country. “There is no doubt each one has to work hard (but) we don’t believe work pressure could have claimed her life,” he said.

READ | After Mother Says Daughter Died Of “Overwork”, EY India Responds

In a statement issued Thursday the India office of EY, one of the Big 4 consulting firms, expressed sorrow over Ms Perayil’s death and offered “deepest condolences to the bereaved family”.

The company – now under government scrutiny over a possible “unsafe and exploitative work environment” – also said it would find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace.

READ | Centre Probes EY Employee’s Death As Mother Blames ‘Overwork’

Minister of State for Labour Shobha Karandlaje said the government was “deeply saddened by the tragic loss”, and that a “thorough investigation” is underway into the circumstances of her death.

Ms Perayil’s death made headlines after her mother’s letter to Mr Memani.

The long and gut-wrenching letter urged EY India to rethink a work environment that “seems to glorify overwork while neglecting the very human beings behind the role”, and led to anger and furious debate online and in the media, over the need for a healthy work-life balance.

READ | Daughter Died Of Overwork At EY, No One Came To Funeral: Mother

“She was full of life, dreams, and excitement for the future. EY was her first job, and she was thrilled to be part of such a prestigious company. But four months later, on July 20th, 2024, my world collapsed when I received the devastating news that Anna had passed away. She was just 26 years old,” her mother, Anita Augustine, wrote.

The grieving mother also pointed out nobody from EY had attended Ms Perayil’s funeral, and that when she tried reaching out to the company at a later date she got reply.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.