Family of EY employee who fell to her death in Sydney breaks their silence with heartbreaking poem

A grief-stricken relative of the woman who died after plunging from a balcony at her Sydney office has paid tribute to their loved one with a heartfelt poem.  

The Ernst & Young employee, 27, fell from an open-air terrace on the 10th floor of the building onto a glass awning at its entrance at about 12:30am on Saturday. 

A person who claims to be a relative of the senior associate has penned an emotional 12-line poem titled ‘Gone Too Soon’ dedicated to their ‘sister’.

The heartbreaking words obtained by Daily Mail Australia describes the woman as having ‘energy and passion of a different kind’ and goes on to say the loss will leave an ‘irreplaceable void in our lives’.

‘Life turned upside down. Shocked beyond words. Not an age to go, lot of life was ahead of you, controlling our tears, as you will be missed for years,’ it begins. 

‘Energy and passion was of a different kind, flashback of your birth running in our minds, aim to relive the bond and of love and respect for every year. 

‘Left an irreplaceable void in our lives, will remember and cherish the wonderful memories, may your soul rest in peace.’

Daily Mail Australia understands the woman’s family members are still trying to piece together the series of events that led to her tragic death.

The woman had been at work until about 7.30pm on Friday when she left her office in Sydney’s CBD before returning again at around midnight.

It was originally thought that she attended work drinks between 5.30pm and 7.30pm, but Daily Mail Australia now understands she was actually in the office during this time. 

This leaves a near-five hour gap in the woman’s movements.

About 20 minutes after arriving back at her office, the woman apparently used her security swipe card to access the restricted open-air terrace area – and then tragically fell to her death.

Daily Mail Australia understands EY are drawing up plans to redesign the rooftop guardrail on the terrace to build a new barrier to prevent any repeat of the tragedy.

The woman’s husband was on a flight from Singapore to Sydney at the time she died and had the terrible news broken to him after he stepped off the plane.

It is understood the woman was a foreign national who had been spent approximately six months working for EY. 

The police investigation is continuing and there is no suggestion EY – the trading name of Ernst & Young – or the senior associate’s superiors were in any way responsible for the death of the worker.

Staff were emailed by a member of management on Monday to tell them that ‘it is with great sadness I am sharing the news that one of our team members died at the EY building in Sydney over the weekend’.

‘While the police investigation is ongoing we have been informed that there were no suspicious circumstances,’ the email added.

‘We have been in touch with the family of the person to offer our condolences and ongoing support.’

The email said the company would launch a ‘comprehensive and wide-ranging internal review ‘ of its health and safety, security and social policies in the wake of the tragedy.

A group of EY workers told Daily Mail Australia that employees had been offered counselling. 

The incident has exposed the intense working conditions at many of the massive multinationals, especially during the auditing season of July to September. 

Employees at the world’s top four international consulting companies have referred to their high-stakes workplaces as the ‘The Meat Grinder’. 

Staffers, both past and present, have lifted the lid on the stressful environment often experienced at the Big4 firms – with some claiming the majority of new employees only last two years.

Some say workers are frequently pushed to their limits to complete the scrupulously detailed reports in a very short turnaround time, requiring hours of allegedly unpaid and unrecorded overtime. 

Social media has been inundated with so-called survivors claiming they regularly worked around the clock to the point of exhaustion and beyond to hit deadlines.

But while billable hours are recorded at average levels of just 41-42 hours a week, the reality is allegedly often double that – or even more.  

One wrote: ‘The cruel working culture needs to be called out and make the news.

‘From personal experience, it’s career suicide to work less than 10 hours per day at EY. No joke. Not exaggerating at all.

‘Average work hours were 8am – 7pm, sometimes until 9:30pm. In other teams, I heard people were there until 2am in the morning.

‘Also no one stays for the pay. The pay is s*** at all of the big 4 consulting firms.’

One admitted they were still hanging on but ready to quit any day now: ‘I’m so mentally exhausted and unwell.

‘[But] they put me on so many engagements on top of full-time project. 

‘Partners won’t care about you as they only want to make more revenue and take more money. Disgusting. I’m so ready to leave.’

Another added: ‘As an auditor myself working at a Big 4 and having worked for two other Big 4, I definitely know how stressful it is during year end audits. 

‘I hope that this tragedy sheds some light on this issue and that firms provide more support to employees especially during this time of the year.’

EY has promised a ‘comprehensive and wide-ranging internal review that will include health and safety, security and social events’ led by their chief mental health advisor in the wake of the tragedy.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted PwC, KPMG and Deloitte for a response to the claims. 

For confidential 24-hour support in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14.