"She Was At A Crossroads": Cousin Of EY Employee Who Died Of 'Overwork'

Anna Sebastian Perayil, the 26-year-old EY India employee who allegedly died of 'overwork', sparking outrage and a nationwide debate on working conditions, was supposed to get married this month, one of her cousins has revealed.

Sunil George Kuruvilla, an assistant director at research and analytics firm Acuity Knowledge Partners, also recounted that Anna had two options: pursuing an MBA or chartered accountancy, and she chose the latter, going on to join EY India after finishing the course. Quoting Robert Frost's 'The Road Not Taken', he said: "And that has made all the difference."

After Anna's mother, Anita Augustine, wrote a letter to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani on the challenges her daughter faced at work, Mr Memani has said that he will not rest until the company accomplishes its objective of nurturing a harmonious workplace.

In the strongly worded, eloquent LinkedIn post on Friday, Mr Kuruvilla said his second cousin Anna was gone forever but she is now more powerful than ever. Likening her to a canary in the coal mine - a phrase used to speak of indicators or warnings of potential danger - he said what happened to her may save young lives "from the clutches of silver-tongued executives who act like the Grim Reaper."

"A few years back, Anna was at a crossroads in her career: an MBA from IRMA or a CA degree. She spoke with my dad at length and finally decided to go for a CA degree, against his advice. To echo Frost's lines, two roads diverged in a wood, and she took one, just as fair. And that has made all the difference," Mr Kuruvilla wrote. 

The executive said he had called Anna's grandfather after he got news of the death. Her grandfather, he recalled, spoke at length, his voice breaking. 

"I didn't weep, even when he told me her marriage was arranged for this month. Sometimes tears are not enough... I must pause now. But Anna lives on in me and in those who nurture fond memories of her. Anna is more powerful than ever," he wrote. 

Mother's Letter

In her letter to Mr Memani, Ms Augustine wrote that Anna passed her chartered accountancy exams on November 23 last year and joined EY Pune on March 19, dying just four months later. 

"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," she said.

The heartbroken mother said Anna's workload was so high that she had been complaining of chest constriction for a week after reaching her paying guest accommodation at 1 am every day and insisted on going to work even after seeing a doctor, saying she had a lot of tasks pending and would not get leave. 

Ms Augustine also pointed out that no one from the company had attended Anna's funeral, which the family found deeply hurtful, and added that she hoped that her letter would spark real change so that no other family has to endure what they went through.

Chairman's Response

Mr Memani said that, as a father, he could understand Ms Augustine's grief, adding that the fact that no one from the company attended the funeral is alien to their culture.

"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 wrote on LinkedIn on Thursday. 

"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 and, on Friday, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said he had a "deeply emotional and heartrending" conversation with her father, Sibi Joseph.

Mr Tharoor also said that he had agreed to Mr Joseph's suggestion to raise the issue of bringing in legislation capping work hours in public and private sector offices to eight hours a day, five days a week.