The controversies surrounding the demise of EY Executive Anna Sebastian Perayil are yet to die down. Sadly, Maharashtra witnessed the untimely passing of another professional on Friday.
If Anna's demise was reported at Ernst & Young's Pune campus, the latest tragic incident was reported from Nagpur. Nitin Edwin Michael, a senior analyst at HCLTechnologies Ltd., passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest at his office on Friday evening. The 40-year-old was found unconscious inside the office washroom and was rushed to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Nagpur, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. An initial autopsy reportedly indicated that Michael died from cardiac arrest.
Nitin Edwin Michael is survived by his wife and six-year-old son, The Economic Times Online said in a report.
After Michael was found lying on the washroom floor around 7:00 PM, he was taken to the health clinic on the HCLTech campus before being shifted to the AIIMS, a company release said. Condoling the passing of the employee, HCLTechnologies Ltd. said in a statement, “This is an unfortunate incident and a tragic loss. We extend our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased employee and are providing all possible assistance to them. In this incident, the employee was provided emergency support at the campus healthcare clinic and rushed to the hospital. The wellbeing of our people is of utmost priority and HCLTech provides healthcare programs for all its employees and their families, including on-campus clinics and annual preventive health checks.”
The passing of Anna Perayil
Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old chartered accountant, working in Ernst & Young, Pune, passed away allegedly due to “work stress”. The Kochi native Anna Sebastian Perayil joined EY in March, after clearing the C.A. exam last year. She died on July 20.
The issue exploded on the internet after a letter written by her mother Anita Augustine to EY chairperson Rajiv Memani, detailing the work culture in the office, leaked. She exposed the work pressure prevalent in the organisation.
“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,” the letter read.
Accoring to the letter, Anna had been “complaining of chest constriction” for a week. When her parents came to visit her in Pune, two weeks before her death, for her C.A. convocation, they took her to the cardiologist, who said it was due to the lack of proper sleep and eating late.
“It breaks my heart to tell you that even during those two days, which were the last we would spend with our child, she couldn't enjoy them because of the work pressure,” the grieving mother wrote.
Anita also mentioned Anna's manager in the letter. She said that he would reschedule meetings as per his convenience, and attend cricket matches. When Anna voiced her concerns about the workload, the assistant manager replied, “You can work at night; that's what we all do.”
Later, a friend of Anna's revealed that they had talked a couple of hours before her passing. Ann Mary, a friend of Anna's since school, alleged that her close friend, even in her last conversation, dropped hints about the toxicity and highly demanding nature of her job at EY.
The company's human resource (HR) wing was not of any help to her late friend, she said. Anna's mother Anita had tried to convince the manager and assistant manager of her daughter's health but there was no response, she reportedly said.