EY Pune employee death: How overworked are Indians and can this burden kill you?

The tragic death of a 26-year-old woman employed at Ernst & Young (EY) in Pune from alleged work pressure has caused an uproar in India. The Labour Ministry is probing the “allegations of an unsafe and exploitative work environment” that Anna Sebastian Perayil’s family claims she was subjected to.

The heartbreaking viral letter of Anna’s mother, Anita Augustine, shed light on the long working hours and work pressure her daughter was under, which she blamed for the young woman’s demise. The incident has set off conversations about the overwork culture in India. It has also triggered questions about whether overwork can be fatal.

Let’s understand.

Overwork culture in India

In India, work is considered “worship”. You are called “lazy” if you do not work five days a week for at least 8-9 hours. But Indians are far from lazy.

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According to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) 2024 estimates, the average working hours in India is 46 hours a week. This brings India to the list of top countries with the longest average working hours. Only Bhutan, Lebanon, Lesotho, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Pakistan are above India.

The ILO’s Global Wage Report 2020-21: Wages and Minimum Wages in the Time of COVID-19 report found that while Indians are among the most overworked across the world, the South Asian country has the lowest minimum wage globally, except for some sub-Saharan African countries.

So, when celebrities and billionaires call for Indians to work more, it hits a raw nerve. Infosys’ Narayana Murthy’s remark that India’s youth should “work for 70 hours a week” had caused outrage on social media. BJP MP and actor Kangana Ranaut’s post about the need to “normalise obsessive work culture” did not sit well with most netizens.

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How dangerous is overwork?

Reports say the colleagues of Anna, a chartered accountant employed at SR Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global, in Pune were told she died of a heart attack. Her mother’s letter mentioned how extreme work culture affected her health, ultimately leading to her death.

Last January, the Delhi High Court observed toxic work culture is a social problem and there is a need for government, labour unions, corporates and health officials to formulate policies.

In Japan, there is a term for how long work hours can lead to tragic outcomes — karoshi, which means death from overwork. The first recorded case of karoshi was in 1969 when a 29-year-old man working at a Japanese newspaper company died of a stroke.

Research published in the journal Environment International in 2021 showed that people working more than 54 hours a week are more prone to die from overwork. The paper said that ischaemic heart disease and stroke are killing three-quarters of a million people each year due to long working hours.

Ischaemic heart disease, also known as coronary heart disease, is caused by narrowed heart arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle.

Overwork can adversely affect health in two ways. Chronic stress, which builds over time, leads to an increase in stress hormones, triggering a rise in blood pressure and cholesterol, noted BBC.

The other way that overwork impacts us is through unhealthy behaviours. Those slogging for long hours may get little sleep, are likely eating poorly, barely exercising, and smoke to cope with the work pressure.

Speaking to Indian Express, Dr Rakesh Gupta, Senior Consultant–Internal Medicine at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, said that working under high pressure triggers the body’s “fight or flight” response, releasing stress hormones. This “constant state of alertness” impacts the body’s normal functioning, leading to headaches, muscle tension, digestive problems and sleep disorders.

People also experience anxiety, irritability, and a lack of focus which causes a dip in productivity, Dr Gupta said.

According to a Stanford University study, employees who work 60 hours a week have lower average productivity than those working 40 hours.

Long-term stress can also result in other mental health issues like depression and burnout. Experts say if these problems remain unaddressed, it could even lead to suicidal thoughts.

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Can overwork cause death?

High levels of stress increase the risk of heart attacks and heart failure, mostly in young people with heart problems like heart disease, Dr Alan Yeung, the medical director at Stanford Cardiovascular Health, told Time magazine.

Experts say working too much can lead to death but is is rare. Dr Yeung said that heart failure due to stress becomes fatal only when combined with other factors, such as chronic stress, a sudden stressful situation and a likely underlying heart condition.

According to Dr Nishant Singh, Sr Consultant, Internal Medicine, Yatharth Hospital, Noida Extension, chronic stress could cause severe cardiovascular events, myocardial infarction or stroke, that may turn fatal, reported Indian Express.

What can be done?

If you are working in a high-pressure environment, it is necessary to manage stress. Changing lifestyle habits by regularly exercising, eating healthy and quitting smoking can be the first step. Take regular breaks and spend some quiet time. Seeking help and talking to your loved ones can also help in dealing with stress.

Companies must ensure that their employees are working in a healthy environment. There must be measures like hotlines to ensure help is available for those in distress. No deadline can be more important than a human’s life.

Importantly, it is high time that we stop glorifying overwork.

With inputs from agencies