Vanessa Ford Death

She had been working 18 hour days leading up to her death.

Recently, a coroner found that Vanessa Ford, the partner of a law firm had consumed a significant amount of alcohol while undergoing an acute mental health crisis. She was struck by a train in September 2023. She is survived by her husband and two school-going children.

The death of the other woman mentioned in this article – Aishwarya Venkatachalam, who tragically fell to her death in 2022 led to EY Oceania starting a review. The Independent Report found that “Long working hours and overwork are a critical issue, having a negative impact on individual wellbeing, team cohesion and retention…”

The death of Aishwarya which we read about in this article was the catalyst for our revised mission and name-change to Inner Wealth. We hadn’t read about her since 2022 and we read about her again in the same week we launched our website. It’s a sad yet meaningful synchronicity for us.

For every one death, many others suffer quietly. And we don’t usually learn about the stories of people dying from heart disease and cancer, both of which are linked with chronic stress.

Reflections for Us as a Community

1. Perhaps reflecting on deathbed regrets such as these can help us live more consciously:
* Not having spent enough time with loved ones – this would be the top regret in Singapore according to a survey done by the Lien Foundation in 2008/2009
The following were found through working with dying people by those mentioned below:
* Having worked too hard – Bronnie Ware, former palliative nurse
* Not having appreciated the preciousness of one’s relationships – Stephen Levine
* Being a slave to money – the late psychiatrist, Dr Elisabeth Kubler Ross and David Kessler

2. How can we untangle our self-worth from the amount of money, status, power we amass or our level of busy-ness?

3. How can we nurture workplace cultures in which people flourish instead of those that drive people to be unwell, then have tick-the-box and remedial solutions or initiatives that make us feel like we are doing something but that keep the wheels turning?

4. How could we each be an example of positive workplace habits? Once in a while I hear of managers who end work on time and set the tone for others this way. This is important.

5. Note to some compassionate nonprofit sector friends: Sometimes I see overwork happen in the name of reducing suffering of others. I hope you look within to see what’s going on. As someone in the sector shared with me, she has a persistent feeling of not serving enough, which then leads her to take on more than what is healthy. What would it take for you to take more care of yourself and your team?

Other Actions We Could Take

1. Use this powerful, heartfelt letter from the Mindful Business Charter to start discussions in our respective communities. It has beyond legal sector relevance.
“It is not a system that is at fault because to say that implies it is the responsibility of someone else, someone faceless, anyone but us, to act. If there is a fundamental problem to address, then as senior leaders we are the people to address it – if not us then who?”
“They need to be realistic about the level of profitability…”


2. Choose one practice from the Charter that you and colleagues can adopt for a start.

May we take care of each other. 🙏

Vadivu Govind