Sudden Impact: Big 4 set new terms of engagement after EY worker's death

The tragic death of a 26-year-old chartered accountant working at SR Batliboi & Co, a member firm of EY Global, and ensuing public outcry have pushed the Big Four firms to roll out several employee-friendly measures, with a renewed focus on mental health and work-life balance. Junior staff in these firms say they are experiencing unprecedented levels of attentiveness and consideration from their superiors.

The firms, facing social media backlash, are aggressively promoting well-being programmes, issuing advisories on mental health, enforcing boundary management, asking staff to raise concerns about anxiety-inducing issues, and actively seeking employee feedback on workplace pressures.

While the death of Anna Sebastian Perayil, an SR Batliboi & Co employee, has sparked a nationwide debate on workplace stress, it is no secret that the demanding culture at top firms-driven by numbers, high-billing expectations, quick turnaround times, and unpredictable workloads-often leads to high-pressure situations.

To make matters worse, many managers and directors lack training for handling people-related issues, exacerbating stress for their teams.

Meanwhile, complaint forums and feedback sessions run by partners are receiving large amounts of grievances across these firms, according to several partners who are conducting them.

Perayil's mother alleged in a letter to EY India chairman Rajiv Memani that an "overwhelming" workload caused the tragedy.

In a yammer message to all Deloitte employees, which ET has reviewed, Deloitte CEO Romal Shetty said the firm has to be kind-hearted, high-performing, and innovative, and it was about getting results by "putting people first and certainly not at cost of your health." Deloitte has proactively constituted a panel comprising Tarun Bajaj, Manoj Kohli, and Subodh Jaiswal to review its people processes.

The firm is also pushing aggressively initiatives, such as "Back Benchers," where employees take a break from regular work to support the talent team on people-centric policies, 24x7 confidential counselling helpline, maintaining pre-pandemic flexible working options, a default hybrid model, and offering additional well-being leave beyond annual leave. Shetty has also been doing 'Mics not Muted' (CEO town halls) roadshows where employees are encouraged to ask any question they want.

At PwC, the firm is using an AI listener tool launched earlier this year to gauge employee sentiment, especially around issues like no leaves taken or appraisal feedback. The firm's partners and directors are urging employees to meet the wellbeing counsellor in each city if they are facing mental health issues. Some firms are undertaking mandatory health check-ups for staff in some cities, and a doctor-on-call helpline is being promoted heavily. PwC India chairperson Sanjeev Krishan is making it a point to stress upon these measures during his regular staff walkarounds.

Junior employees say that earlier, partners, directors, and senior managers used to call for hounding them about deadlines and heap on more work, but now they are reaching out to offer more time for any task and also lend a helping hand. "I hope this phase of kindness and cooperation lasts," said a KPMG consulting manager, on condition of anonymity.

In an email to employees, BSR & Co, a KPMG affiliate firm, advised against excessive after-hours communication and meetings, encouraged pushing back on unreasonable client deadlines, and emphasised the importance of respecting reasonable boundaries and work schedules.

One particular firm, whose staff revisions were due this week, is hastily reworking its systems to 'reengineer' the bell curve, ensuring that 4 and 5 raters are bumped up to more favourable ratings.

Experts say that the top firms will need to closely examine their work practices to create any meaningful long-term impact, as changing the deeply ingrained culture will take time.