Anna Sebastian Death: A former Deloitte employee has stepped forward to recount his own struggles with toxic work culture in India's corporate sector, days after the tragic death of Anna Sebastian, a 26-year-old Ernst & Young (EY) consultant, allegedly due to 'work stress'.
Jayesh Jain, a former employee from Deloitte’s Indore office, took to social media to share his experience, saying he could "totally understand what Anna would have gone through." Jain's revelations come in the wake of growing concerns over the toll excessive workloads are taking on professionals.
Posting a series of screenshots on platform X (formerly Twitter), Jain detailed how the heavy work burden negatively impacted both his physical and professional well-being. "With the EY case getting some attention, I want to share my experience at Deloitte," he wrote. "I'm attaching screenshots of chats with a teammate where we discussed work and our health at 5 AM."
The screenshots, timestamped as early as 5 AM, depict employees enduring 20-hour workdays, despite being allowed to log only a maximum of 15 hours. In one message from 5:12 AM, a colleague wrote, "I was also sitting here with a lot all the time for FI-HI doubts." At 4:08 AM, another message read, "Bahot ho gaya" (That's enough), with the colleague later suggesting, "turn off the laptop."
Further messages exposed how employees were struggling to balance their workload with health concerns. "Mere se nahi hora bilkul: Chakkar aare hai" (I am not able to do it at all: I feel dizzy), Jain’s colleague wrote, revealing the immense pressure they were under.
Expressing solidarity with Anna Sebastian's family, Jain highlighted the harsh reality of corporate life. "Always remember, you are just an employee number for them. But for your family, you are everything," he posted. Jain concluded by stating that he was "glad" to have left Deloitte in time.
Rajiv Memani's response
In response to the tragic incident, Rajiv Memani, EY India chairman, said, "We have around one lakh employees. There is no doubt each one has to work hard. Anna worked with us only for four months. She was allotted work like any other employee. We don’t believe that work pressure could have claimed her life."
EY statement
EY has pledged to enhance its efforts toward improving employee health and well-being. "We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian's tragic and untimely passing in July 2024, and our deepest condolences go to the bereaved family," the company said in an official statement on Wednesday. EY, one of the world's Big Four consulting firms, also assured that it is providing support to Sebastian’s family while focusing on creating a healthier work environment for its employees.
"While no measure can compensate for the loss experienced by the family, we have provided all the assistance we always do in such times of distress and will continue to do so," EY added.
The incident has ignited widespread discussions about work-life balance and mental health in the corporate sector, with calls for immediate reforms to prevent further tragedies.