The untimely death of a 26-year-old employee of a multinational audit firm Ernst & Young (EY) has ignited a debate regarding toxic corporate work culture on social media. The incident came to light after the letter written by the aggrieved mother of the deceased employee to EY Indian chairman, Rajiv Memani, surfaced on social media.
“EY was her first job... 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,” said the mother in the letter. The letter didn’t exactly mention the reason for her unfortunate death. However, she hinted that the workload, new environment, and long hours took a toll on her physically, emotionally, and mentally. The 26-year-old employee experienced anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress soon after joining the audit firm, she added in her letter.
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Taking consideration of her letter, Ernst & Young released a statement addressing the loss experienced by the family of the late employee.
“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,” said the audit firm EY in a statement.
The exchange between the mother of the late employee and EY sparked a bigger conversation around corporate work culture. Many users of social media platform X shared their growing dissatisfaction with the corporate work culture.
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What are the netizens saying about the toxic corporate work culture?
“EY’s response is a classic lesson on how to say nothing will change without saying nothing will change,” said one user.
Some users brought the “70-hour” work advice given by Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy and the toll it is likely to take on the lives of the young working population. While speaking to India Today, Murthy said, “India’ work culture needs to change and that youngsters should be prepared to work for 70 hours a week.”
The standup comedian Shridhar V said in a post on X, “Heartbreaking! This is how the 70-hour work week mantras manifest into horrible workspaces. Getting a certain job is a dream to many because that’s often our way out of the socioeconomic class we belong to.”
