EY’s ideal worker ‘is always available’. Some find that unbearable

afr.com:

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).

Some EY personnel have painted a grim picture of what it is really like to work at the firm. 

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