Death of employee in India sparks debate on ‘mind-numbing’ overtime culture

The death of a young female executive in India, reportedly due to exhaustion, has ignited an outcry over the country’s “toxic work culture” and cast a spotlight on the highly competitive pressures faced by millions in the workplace.

Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old audit executive at Ernst & Young India, died on July 20 due to “work stress”, according to her mother Anita Augustine, who told local media last week that her daughter barely had any personal time and would often collapse in bed due to fatigue.

EY India has denied that Perayil was overwhelmed by work pressures as alleged by her mother.

The case has prompted a federal investigation and sparked a social media furore under the hashtag #JusticeForAnna, with professionals sharing their experience of long working hours. The problem has become pervasive in India despite laws to prevent workplace exploitation, according to analysts.

The controversy intensified after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman appeared to reference the incident during an event at a medical college last week, suggesting that young people needed to develop inner strength to handle pressure, which “can be achieved through divinity only”.

Opposition leaders accused Sitharaman of victim-shaming, though she later clarified that she was emphasising the importance of resilience in demanding environments.