Media contributions
1Media contributions
Title EY ’s ideal worker ‘is always available’. Some find that unbearable Degree of recognition National Media name/outlet AFR Online Media type Web Duration/Length/Size 1289 words Country/Territory Australia Date 1/08/23 Description The “ideal worker” at big four consulting firm EY Oceania is someone who is “fully committed to their job, works long hours, prioritises work over personal life, and is always available to their employer”.
The problem with this model, as described in the landmark external review of the firm’s workplace, is that almost half of the firm’s personnel complain the regular excessive hours damage their health (46 per cent), stress them out (46 per cent of those surveyed), and make them dream of quitting (42 per cent).
The tension between the way the firm markets its workplace and the reality of what was described by a staffer as an “unbearable workload” goes some way to explaining the firm’s 37.4 per cent employee turnover in 2021-22, a level that was far above the roughly 25 per cent turnover at rival firms Deloitte , KPMG and PwC .
The high turnover means the firm has to constantly bring in thousands of workers just to maintain the level of service it provides to clients, let alone cope with any increases in workload.
The firm’s leaders say they have accepted all 27 recommendations of the report and will run pilot programs aimed at improving the working conditions – but these programs will all cost money.
Partners will have to decide how much of their super-profits – average partner income is about $950,000 – they will sacrifice to ensure more workers are put on projects. This compares with staff pay at the firm which begins at roughly $66,000 for assurance graduates and $150,000 for a senior manager.
The alternative, and hard-headed, approach would be for the firm’s leaders to make the point that long hours are part of working at a client-focused professional services firm. Conversations with EY insiders show this debate is live and far from resolved within the firm.
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‘Churn and burn’ mentality
The review highlights at least two cohorts of personnel at EY : those who have ended up at the firm because they believed the pre-employment spin of “employer of choice” working conditions; and those who know the reality and buy into and thrive on the intense working conditions.
Either way, the demands are clearly hurting the firm’s personnel, says Kay Wilson, a researcher in mental health, disability and human rights law from the University of Melbourne law school.
“Obviously, the high job demands and work hours actually are taking their toll on people despite the rhetoric ... I think that reflects a ‘churn and burn’ mentality where people are seen as productive units to be used and thrown away rather than as valuable professionals,” Dr Wilson said.
“It’s very much a take it or leave it situation. If you don’t like the culture or work hours, your only option is to leave – and not just leave the firm, but the whole professional services industry because EY ’s competitors are running on exactly the same business model and will have the same expectations.”
Professor Ian Hickie of the University of Sydney said that at “dysfunctional organisations culture is often indicated by turnover data. EY ’s turnover indicates problems.”
To achieve the massive annual recruitment requirement of bringing in thousands of new workers, the firm’s marketing for potential employees makes no mention of a working week that regularly exceeds 61 hours for 11 per cent of workers and routinely tops 51 hours for 31 per cent of staff.
Instead, the pitch is that the firm offers a personalised career journey, with “flexible working” conditions, and benefits that focus on the “physical, emotional, financial and social wellbeing” of staff. The result is many new hires sign up for a job that turns out to be wildly different to their expectations.
It does not help that many within the firm still equate long hours with high performance, says John Dumay, a professor of accounting and finance at Macquarie University .
“Well-trained, competent and motivated staff should not have to work excessive hours continually ... putting profits before people is not how we need to work in the 2020s and beyond,” Professor Dumay said. “If you invest in your people, profits should flow, from providing value-added services to the firm’s clients.”
The comments from the report paint a picture of staff at breaking point.
“There is insane pressure to churn work, which leaves you exhausted,” one unnamed respondent told the review team, which was led by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick. Another noted: “My team hear the word urgent 40 times per day.”
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‘People are so exhausted and stressed’
Personnel blame partners for setting “unreasonable project deadlines” and not having enough staff and time to complete work.
“I work late every night because I was trying to get it right for the client,” one said. Another said partners did “not manage client expectations, and people end up doing 12-hour days, it’s very rare to push back … consultants, senior consultants and managers bear the brunt of the strain.”
Yet another staff member noted: “I have people calling me in tears because of unclear expectations, stress, misinterpretations – people are so exhausted and stressed ... people get sick and they can’t get better because they are exhausted – people then leave.”
The health impact of the long hours, which particularly hit senior managers and associate directors, is detailed in distressing detail in the report.
“The hours are so unreasonable, and you really feel like your health isn’t valued at all,” one respondent said. Another said, “when I [moved] roles, I still didn’t get my mental health back on track. Because the work just never stops.”
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The report also noted there was widespread under-reporting of actual hours worked at the firm.
‘I have nothing to offer my family’
“The workload is having a huge impact on health, sometimes I’m taking 1am calls from US, I often work 16 hours a day,” an employee said. “Every evening my calendar is full of meetings because of the time differences/global nature of the work. 3-4 days I work 16 hours, but I only log 37.5 hours because there is no point taking time off, because my inbox will be full of hundreds of emails.”
The report also highlights a group of personnel who show remarkable enthusiasm for the working hours.
“Working hard is not a bad thing, many people including myself like working hard,” one said.
Another said: “I am afforded the opportunity to progress my career rapidly and meaningfully. However, this requires hard work, as it should. I do not begrudge EY for giving me the opportunity to work hard to achieve my strong career goals. I didn’t sign up for ‘easy’ and I can leave any time if I don’t like it here.”
This “ideal worker model”, and the conflict of the rewards and the price of working at the firm, is best summed up by one particularly poignant comment.
“It is sad because I love it, I love the people, I love the work, I am grateful for the salary, but all I do is work, I have nothing to offer to my family, my marriage, my house,” the staffer said.
“I got a promotion and a great raise but I have spent all that money and more on psychiatry and psychology and acupuncture just trying to keep going. I’m not actively looking but if I find another job, I will leave because I do feel like I am killing myself doing this.”
Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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Fairfax Media Management Pty Limited
Document AFNROL0020230804ej81000dyProducer/Author Ed Tadros Persons John Dumay