Days after the tragic death of 26-year-old Ernst & Young (EY) consultant Anna Sebastian allegedly due to “work stress”, a former Deloitte employee has come forward to share his own experience of toxic work culture in India’s corporate sector. Jayesh Jain, from Indore, recounted his own experience, saying he could “totally understand what Anna would have gone through.”
Posting a series of screenshots on X, Mr Jain revealed how too much work impacted both his health and professional life. “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, reveal the gruelling work schedule, with employees enduring 20-hour shifts but only able to log a maximum of 15 hours.
One message from 5:12 AM read, “I was also sitting here with a lot all the time for FI-HI doubts.” At 4:08 AM, Mr Jain’s colleague said, “Bahot ho gaya” (That’s enough), and later suggested to “turn off the laptop”. Another message from 5:07 AM shows Mr Jain’s colleague saying, “I will definitely file a complaint.”
The screenshots also revealed the employees’ struggles to manage their work while dealing with health issues, as seen in messages like, “Mere se nahi hora bilkul: Chakkar aare hai” (I am not able to do it at all: I feel dizzy).
Showing empathy for Anna’s family, Mr Jain wrote, “Always remember, you are just an employee number for them. But for your family, you are everything.” The former Deloitte worker ended their post, saying, “Glad I was able to get out of there in time.”
With EY case getting some lights. I would like to share my personal experience at Deloitte.
Attaching some screenshots of chats with my team mate – friend where we were discussing the work and our health at 5AM in the morning.
We use to work for around 20 hours and they won’t… pic.twitter.com/EjtqWjhwSm
— Jayesh Jain (@arey_jainsaab) September 18, 2024
An X user commented, “It’s happening due to no law to safeguard employee in india. These companies can not exploit employee overseas due to strong laws.”
It’s happening due to no law to safeguard employee in india. These companies can not exploite employee overseas due to strong laws.
— Neeraj SRIVASTAVA (@neerajs15569427) September 19, 2024
Another user recounted a “scam”, saying, “My friend who is working in KPMG is asked to punch in only 9-10 hours and he is working more than 14 hours each day.”
My friend who is working in KPMG is asked to punch in only 9-10 hours and he is working more than 14 hours each day.
Alag hi scam hai and people have normalised it.
— Sachin (@CrypticReally) September 19, 2024
Someone else stated, “My teachers used to say that awareness will increase education and it will end exploitation. It is terrible to see most highly educated ones are systematically exploited to the hilt. Did education fail people or did people fail education?”
My teachers used to say that awareness will increase education and it will end exploitation
It is terrible to see most highly educated ones are systematically exploited to the hilt
Did education failed people or did people failed education?
— Pankaj Malviya (@malviyapankaj) September 19, 2024
Amid growing outrage over the death of Anna Sebastian, the Union Labour Ministry has announced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death. Minister of State for Labour Shobha Karandlaje confirmed that the ministry is looking into allegations of an unsafe and exploitative work environment at the company. Anna’s mother, Anita Augustine, has called on Ernst & Young’s leadership to address what she describes as a culture that “glorifies overwork” while neglecting employee well-being. In a letter, she described her daughter’s tragic death just four months into her first job and urged for changes to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
