EY staff feel bullied, overworked, afraid to speak up
Staff at big four consulting firm EY feel overworked, bullied and harassed by partners and senior management, and are too scared to report bad behaviour by their superiors because it might harm their careers, a landmark external review has found.
A voluntary anonymous survey of more than 4000 workers and other consultation measures within the firm’s Oceania region operations resulted in a litany of complaints, on topics ranging from management practices to long work hours and corporate culture.
The report, commissioned to improve the firm’s workplace, also found the “vast majority of staff and partners feel safe” and believe “people behave in a respectful manner towards others” at the firm.
A report into EY’s workplace has uncovered problems across the firm. Will Willitts
But the “positive experiences are not equally experienced by all”, with women and minority groups most likely to “experience lower levels of safety and inclusion in EY Oceania”. The firm argued that many of the issues raised were common across the major auditing firms.
The findings have sent shockwaves across the firm’s leadership, which has acknowledged that reducing the regular punishing working hours will require a shift away from staffing work based on profit margin.
The 142-page report is the largest of its type examining what it is really like to work in a large professional services firm in Australia.
The findings and recommendations will have implications for the wider professional services sector – which has been under the microscope at multiple parliamentary inquiries since the PwC tax leaks matter was revealed – and the wider white-collar workforce because work practices at advisory firms tend to permeate through the economy.
The review, led
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