Indian-origin former Deloitte partner says 100-hour work weeks led to health breakdown and career rethink

Indian-origin executive Deepa Purushothaman, who became a partner at Deloitte at just 34, has revealed that grueling 100-hour work weeks ultimately led to a severe health crisis and forced her to leave the firm after more than two decades. She joined Deloitte in 1999 as a senior consultant after graduating from Harvard Kennedy School, intending to stay only briefly before moving into public policy. However, her rapid rise through the ranks kept her at the firm for 21 years, culminating in her appointment as a partner.

Speaking to Business Insider, Purushothaman stated that her early success was driven by relentless effort rather than exceptional intellect, explaining that her strength lay in her ability to outwork almost anyone. She said that after moving to San Francisco in 2014, her workload intensified dramatically, with weeks stretching to 100 hours as she left home at 4 a.m. and returned close to 1 a.m. for months at a time.

She informed that the extreme schedule began to take a toll on her health, leading to recurring headaches, infections, adrenal fatigue, and repeated shingles. After consulting 15 doctors, she was diagnosed with late-stage Lyme disease, which had likely remained dormant since childhood but was triggered by prolonged stress. By 2019, she took a leave of absence and spent eight months bedridden, suffering from neuropathy and losing sensation between her elbows and knees. Reflecting on that period, she questioned whether success could truly be defined without health as part of it.

Purushothaman officially left Deloitte in May 2020. Just six weeks later, she informed that she had sold her book The First, the Few, the Only: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America to HarperCollins. The project involved interviews with 500 senior women of colour and led to the creation of nFormation, a membership community aimed at professional women, alongside extensive corporate speaking engagements. However, she later stated that the pace of her new career mirrored her consulting years, once again affecting her health and prompting another reassessment of her priorities.

In 2024, she decided to close nFormation and launch re.write, a think tank focused on reimagining the modern workplace. Now serving as an executive fellow at Harvard Business School, Purushothaman said her health has stabilised and her sense of purpose has become clearer. She stated that while she once feared leaving Deloitte was a mistake, she now recognises that she did not lose anything but instead gained perspective and growth.