A glimpse of the Diwali celebrations at the EY Gurgaon office has surfaced in a video on social media. The viral footage, however, has failed to impress people as it reminded them of EY Pune's 26-year-old CA, Anna Sebastien Perrail, whose family alleges she died of “overwork”.
CA Sneha Chinchalani, whose profile says she works at EY, posted the video with the caption “Celebrating Diwali at EY Gurgaon”. He also used several hashtags, including “Big 4” and “Diwali”. For the uninitiated, the four largest international accounting and professional services firms are collectively known as the Big 4. The list includes Deloitte, EY, PwC, and KPMG.
Take a look at the viral video here:
How did social media users react?
“Is this the same crowd that didn't go to their co-worker's funeral?” asked an Instagram user. “No grudges and no hard feelings to these guys but after this video all I can say is don't take your job seriously even after you die, your own company people will get over it in a few days. You will be replaced by someone new and no one will remember your achievements and hard work for your company. That's life,” another posted.
“Is it image manipulation,” expressed a third. “Reparations for past burn deaths?” The fourth was written.
The Tragic Case of Anna Sebastien Perriel
The death of the 26-year-old EY Pune employee came to light after her mother Anita Augustine wrote a heart-wrenching letter to EY India chairman Rajeev Maimani after her demise. He claimed that the “tremendous workload” caused his untimely death.
Anna Sebastien Perrail's father, Sibi Joseph, spoke of the “glorification” of overwork, adding that he did not want anyone else to suffer the same fate as his daughter.
“We advised him to quit, but he insisted that the position would provide valuable professional exposure,” he revealed to the media. “He complained to the assistant manager, but he insisted on working even at night,” he added.
EY India chief's response:
Rajeev Maimani, Chairman and Managing Partner – EY India shared a post shortly after Anna's death denying allegations of extreme work pressure leading to her death. Later, he posted that he was “deeply saddened” by the incident and also talked about why no one from the company came to his funeral.