E&Y’s Response to Employee Death: A Lesson in Empathy Failure

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A failure of Empathy 

The death of q young Ernst & Young (E&Y) employee, has sparked an outcry over the demanding work culture within consulting firms. E&Y's response to her tragic passing has been widely criticized for lacking genuine empathy, leaving both the family and employees feeling unsupported. Three statements were issued back to back, all in reaction to her mother’s letter that got leaked, nothing before that because it was just 1 employee of 100,000 who had passed away.

Statement 1,  Sept 18^th (2 months after the death of Anna, when her mother’s letter to the chairman got leaked ) – Sept 18, 2024 

“While no measure can compensate for the loss experienced by the family, we have provided all the assistance as we always do in such times of distress and will continue to do so”.
“We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian's tragic and untimely passing in July 2024, and our deepest condolences go to the bereaved family,”

Amrit's take: Replace Anna/ with any other employee, zero empathy in the statement.

Statement 2 (Sept 19th, 2024)

“We have around one lakh employees. There is no doubt each one has to work hard. Anna was with us for 4 months and she was allotted work like anybody else. We don’t believe that work pressure could have claimed her life.

Anna Sebastian Peiayjil’s promising career was cut short in this tragic manner an “irreparable loss” for the company. While no measure can compensate for the loss experienced by the family, we have provided all the assistance as we always do in such times of distress and will continue to do so.”

Amrit's Take: The statement starts with we have one lakh employees – denoting that Anna was just one of them and work or should I say it is business as usual.

Statement 3 on LinkedIn (Sept 20^th )

“I am deeply saddened as a father, I can only imagine Ms. Augustine’s grief. I have conveyed my deepest condolences’ to the family, although nothing can fill the void in their lives. I truly regret the fact I am deeply saddened and as a father, I can only imagine Ms Augustine’s grief. I have conveyed my deepest condolences to the family, although nothing can fill the void in their lives. I truly regret the fact that we missed being present at Anna’s funeral. This is completely alien to our culture. It has never happened before; it will never happen again.

Over the past few days, I am aware that people have in their social media posts commented on some of our work practices. It has always been very important to us to create a healthy workplace and we attach the highest importance to the well-being of our people.

I would like to affirm that the well-being of our people is my top-most priority and I will personally champion this objective. I am absolutely committed to nurturing a harmonious workplace, and I will not rest until that objective is accomplished. This acknowledged the family's grief and admitted missing the funeral—a first for the company."

Amrit's Take: This message attempted to convey empathy, it came across as reactionary, addressing public backlash rather than the real issue.

All statements demonstrate a lack of sensitivity and responsibility, with leadership focusing more on corporate image than on meaningful support. This incident will soon be forgotten after the media frenzy and some politicians will piggyback on the news cycle. Some like Deloitte will order a committee to look into their people practices but will someone seriously look at having the best comms teams and understand that a crisis comes from different aspects and the team has to toggle thinking business first or people first?

In situations of profound loss, it is essential to communicate with sensitivity and compassion, not only for the sake of public perception but for the people affected. A genuine response prioritizes the well-being of employees and families, rather than deflecting responsibility. As Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky once said when announcing layoffs during COVID, “Our mission is to be there for people in their hardest moments” Good to read and refresh this masterpiece of communication.

This should serve as a reminder for all communications professionals: when handling human tragedies, remember that at the other end are people who deserve not just words, but care. Hope the E&Y leadership is hearing and so are other leaders and this is not just going to be a political and media frenzy that dies without any action.

Amrit Ahuja is a communication consultant and leadership coach.

Editor's note: There is legal recourse available for mental harassment at the workplace It can be punished under the law. People are also protected under The Right to equality under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which can be applied to cases of harassment at the workplace based on gender, caste and religion.