Every Employee Is Under Pressure: Akhilesh After 26-Year-Old Pune CA's Death Due to 'Work Stress'

She had cleared the chartered accountancy (CA) exams on November 23 last year and joined EY Pune on March 19.

Akhilesh Yadav linked the death of a CA due to work pressure to economic policy failures. (Image credit: PTI)

Source : PTI

Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav reacted to the death of a 26-year-old CA, employed with Ernst & Young, allegedly due to work pressure in office. He said every employee, from top to bottom, is under pressure and the main reason for this pressure and tension is the "failure of economic policies".

Anna Sebastian had cleared the chartered accountancy (CA) exams on November 23 last year and joined EY Pune on March 19.

"There is a need to improve the economic conditions more than the rules and regulations. The truth is that the way there is unemployment and work and business have fallen prey to recession and declining demand due to the wrong policies of the government and excessive taxes, there is tremendous pressure on the business moving towards loss to get maximum work done from minimum employees," the SP leader wrote in Hindi on X. 

Terming a balanced ratio of 'work-life balance' a standard for the development of any country, he said the incident has shaken the youth of the country. "This is not the case of any one company or any one department of the government, but everywhere the adverse conditions are almost the same, a little more at some places, a little less at others," he added.

‘Work-life balance’ का संतुलित अनुपात किसी भी देश के विकास का एक मानक होता है। पुणे में एक अंतरराष्ट्रीय कंपनी में काम करनेवाली एक युवती की काम के तनाव से हुई मृत्यु और उस संदर्भ में उसकी माँ का लिखा हुआ भावुक पत्र देश भर के युवक-युवतियों को झकझोर गया है। ये किसी एक कंपनी या…

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) September 19, 2024

Akhilesh said progress will only be possible when the mental health of the country is good. "In this context, the government will first have to change its thinking and its ways of working, where the basis should not be the superficial measure of working the maximum number of hours but the result obtained in the end," he said.

CA's Boss Told Her To Stick Around, Change Everyone's Opinion About Team

The incident came to light after a viral letter of a woman alleged that her daughter had died of "overwork" just four months after joining the consulting firm. The woman's mother Anita Augustine wrote an email to Rajiv Memani, the head of EY India. The mother alleged that the CA's assistant manager once called her at night with a task that needed to be completed by the next morning, leaving her with barely any time to rest or recover. "When she voiced her concerns, she was met with the dismissive response: 'You can work at night; that’s what we all do'," the mother alleged. 

She revealed that since many employees resigned due to the "excessive workload," the CA's boss told her to "stick around and change everyone's opinion about the team".

Ernst & Young's Response

After facing backlash over the incident, Ernst & Young issued a statement", saying, "We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian's tragic and untimely passing in July 2024, and our deepest condolences go to the bereaved family." It added that the firm will provide all the assistance to the family and would find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace to its employees.

"While no measure can compensate for the loss experienced by the family, we have provided all the assistance as we always do in such times of distress and will continue to do so".

"We are taking the family's correspondence with the utmost seriousness and humility. We place the highest importance on the well-being of all employees and will continue to find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace for our 100,000 people across EY member firms in India," the company said.