Jayesh Jain said he could “completely understand what Anna went through.”
Days after the tragic death of 26-year-old Ernst & Young (EY) consultant Anna Sebastian, reportedly due to “work stress,” a former Deloitte employee has come forward to share his own experience of a toxic work culture in the Indian corporate sector. Jayesh Jain, from Indore, shared his own experience and said he could “completely understand what Anna had to go through.”
Posting a series of screenshots on X, Mr. Jain revealed how too much work was affecting both his health and his professional life. “Now that the EY case is getting some attention, I want to share my experience at Deloitte,” he wrote. “I am attaching screenshots of chats with a teammate where we were discussing work and our health at 5am.”
The screenshots, taken as early as 5am, show the grueling work schedule: employees work 20 hours a day, but can work a maximum of 15 hours a day.
A message from 5:12 AM read: “I was also sitting here all the time with lot of FI-HI doubts.” At 4:08 AM, Mr. Jain's colleague said: “Bahot ho gaya” (That's enough), and later suggested to “switch off the laptop.” Another message from 5:07 AM shows Mr. Jain's colleague saying: “I will definitely file a complaint.”
The screenshots also showed how difficult it was for employees to combine work with health issues, as evidenced by messages such as: “Mere se nahi hora bilkul: Chakkar aare hai” (I can't do it at all: I'm getting dizzy).
To show empathy for Anna's family, Mr. Jain wrote, “Always remember that to them you are just an employee number. But to your family, you are everything.” The former Deloitte employee concluded his post by saying, “Glad I got out of there in time.”
Now that the EY case is getting some light, I would like to share my personal experience at Deloitte.
I am attaching some screenshots of chats with my teammate/friend, where we discussed work and our health at 5am.
We work about 20 hours a day and they don't want to… photo.twitter.com/EjtqWjhwSm
— Jayesh Jain (@arey_jainsaab) September 18, 2024
An X user commented: “This is happening because there is no law to protect workers in India. These companies cannot exploit workers abroad because of strict laws.”
It happens because there is no law to protect workers in India. These companies cannot exploit workers abroad because of strict laws.
— Neeraj SRIVASTAVA (@neerajs15569427) September 19, 2024
Another user reported a 'scam' and said: 'My friend who works at KPMG only has to work 9-10 hours, while he works more than 14 hours every day.'
My friend who works at KPMG only has to work 9-10 hours, but he works more than 14 hours a day.
There is a scam going on here and people have normalized it.
— Sachin (@CrypticReally) September 19, 2024
Someone else said: “My teachers always said that education would increase awareness and end exploitation. It is appalling to see the most highly educated people being systematically exploited to the utmost. Has education failed people or have people failed education?”
My teachers always said that awareness would improve education and end exploitation.
It is terrible to see that the most highly educated people are systematically exploited to the utmost.
Has education failed the people or have the 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 investigating 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” and neglects the well-being of employees. In a letter, she described her daughter's tragic death just four months into her first job and urged changes to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
