India is investigating the work environment at Big Four accounting firm EY, the labour minister said on Thursday, after the death of a 26-year-old associate worker was blamed on stress by her mother who demanded accountability.

EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani expressed regret for not attending the 26-year-old employee’s funeral, whose death is alleged to be the stress caused by work, reported the news agency PTI on Friday.

Here's everything you need to know about the 26-year-old chartered accountant, Anna Sebastian Perail's death due to work pressure in her office, EY India.

Anna Sebastian Perayil died in July and was overworked with a “backbreaking” load as a new employee, which affected her “physically, emotionally, and mentally”, her mother Anita Augustine wrote in a letter to EY’s India chairman which went viral on social media.

Following the tragic death of 26-year-old Anna Sebastian Perayil, EY’s Chairman expressed condolences, while the Union Labour Ministry announced an investigation into claims of an unsafe work environment.

A psychiatrist from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital highlighted the severe symptoms of work stress following the death of an EY employee. He advised against making work one's entire life and called for a humane approach from employers.

Mansukh Mandaviya said, “Be it a white collar job or any worker, whenever a citizen of the country dies, it is natural to be saddened by it.”

The passing of a 26-year-old EY employee, allegedly due to work-related stress, raises urgent questions about the state of workplace culture in India. Shouldn't this incident prompt a reevaluation of managerial practices and corporate values?