raluca stroescu, the aftermath Tweet

Who's guilty? Raluca Stroescu. And then her family, friends, colleagues, doctors, and company.

It's not logical to work yourself to death one year past the day you admitted that you're exhausted and unhappy—how brainwashed can one get? It's not normal to not look for and find another job in one full year when you're a top auditor for Ernst & Young. It's not acceptable that family, friends, and close colleagues couldn't pull her out of this madness. It's not imaginable that doctors let her walk away without any intervention, one day before her death. It's not conceivable that the company is silent, at large. Not unless you work in public relations.

How many of us took note of Raluca's colleague, Laura Damian, who died in a car crash last year after falling asleep while driving between two clients? Why didn't that make a story but Raluca's case did? Why didn't Laura's colleagues go public last year? What did the company do in between? Why didn't international media pick up the two cases now, at least? Could it all be too good crisis management and communication last year and, with some delay, this year as well?

This year, E&Y got a fine (RON 34,600/ ~EUR 10,500) for not abiding labour regulations in Romania, which very few companies abide, to tell the truth. The company didn't make any public announcement following the standard press statement: they were saddened by Stroescu's tragic disappearance since she was a valuable employee, they noted that it was the company through its HR manager who took Raluca to the medical check-up the Friday before her death, and they stated that the company will support investigations, as well as Raluca's family in any needed way.

In case there's a change inside the company in terms of HR practices, Laura and Raluca's colleagues did not make it public so far. The only news I'm hearing (word of mouth) come from other companies where employers—whether suddenly and genuinely interested by the well being of their employees or just afraid of inspections, fines, and becoming a media story—started checking on their employees at day's end, forcing them to leave the office earlier, and even giving them holidays those people couldn't take in, say, five years.

And how about Unirea Medical Centre (CMU), where Ernst & Young ensured Raluca's health and where she was examined hours before her death? Last time a friend reported to a doctor in an institution less known and state-owned, not knowing why she was exhausted, the doctor immediately had her lying in a bed, enrolled in a diet of rest, three meals a day, and added vitamins for a full week, probably saving her life. In a country where doctors keep killing people and aren't found guilty, will CMU be fined, at least?

An article in Capital [RO] explains the mechanics inside a Big Four company. One known rule is that employees in Raluca's position are encouraged to not declare their extra hours in order to receive bonuses and keep their projects profitable—it appears that the average profitability of an audit project is 50%. I remember perfectly that even I worked for a company which instinctively—if not programmatic—gave bonuses each time an overworked employee was ready to go crazy or go away; meanwhile, more of their employees discovered that money come second to life.

On several newspapers' websites and on personal blogs, people wrote stories about themselves and their friends successfully getting out of similar working systems, living more, and even making more money. And then, Irina Tica, an employee of Delphi Packard Romania (Ineu, Arad county) died at 23 y.o. for having been pushed to work 14-16 hours a day—officially 12, yet the company didn't have papers to prove employees agreed to those extra hours even, so an inspection and a fine followed again. How many deaths will it take until we learn to say no?

Update, May 16th 2007: Francine McKenna ran a story about KPMG making money the Chicago way—early and often. It offers insight into the budgeting and billing process used inside certain consulting companies.

Later update: News just came through today to confirm that Stroescu's heart failure—and several other problems—were due to severe weight loss during her two last months alive. Now what? Via Maria Coman [RO], former university colleague, former news reporter, and presently news anchor with Antena 3 [RO].

Update, June 13th 2007: Today I've come about the news that Raluca's mother, former audit manager with Ernst & Young will take her doctor to court following the doctor's association finding him not guilty.

Update, April 15th 2008: In my comments, Andrei notes that Laura died in a car accident driving to a private wedding. The marketing dept. announced the sad news to their clients and the to the press. However, as the media could not take advantage of a high coverage, they refused to make it public.