EY Has a Strict Stance Against Multitasking: It Fired Multiple Employees for Enrolling in Two Online Courses at the Same Time

Productivity experts have long warned about the dangers of multitasking at work. A recent incident highlights another serious consequence of doing two tasks at the same time: It could cost you your job. According to the Financial Times, several employees at the consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) in the U.S. were fired for simultaneously participating in two online training sessions.

Dismissed for multitasking. These employees were dismissed without notice for what the company considers a serious breach of work ethics. In a statement to the Financial Times, EY explained, “Our core values of integrity and ethics are at the forefront of everything we do. Appropriate disciplinary action was recently taken in a small number of cases where individuals were found to be in violation of our global code of conduct and U.S. learning policy.”

According to the outlet, the fired consultants claimed that no one informed them it was unacceptable to attend two online training sessions at once and that they were merely trying to make the most of two interesting opportunities.

One course at a time. The fired employees told the Financial Times that they had this approach in place to maximize the benefits of the training sessions. “Their emails marketing EY Ignite actually encouraged us to join as many sessions as our schedules allowed. We all worked with three monitors. I was hoping to hear new ideas that I could bring to the table to separate myself from others,” one former EY employee told the outlet.

However, the Financial Times also reports that EY had included a clear warning at the end of these emails: “[Employees are] expected to complete this learning activity with integrity, including being present for all content and class interactions. You should not take any other learning while completing this activity,” the company said in the email.

Mandatory training. At EY Consulting, employees are required to complete a series of training courses each year to ensure their skills and knowledge remain current. This training occurs during the “EY Ignite Learning Week,” which is dedicated exclusively to this purpose.

The training is based on a credit system, where each course contributes toward the 40 education credits that every employee must complete during working hours. The company sees employees taking two training courses simultaneously as a way to expedite the credit-earning process without fully engaging in either course.

Multitasking is a common practice. Some of the employees who were dismissed told the Financial Times that the fast-paced work environment encourages multitasking. One fired employee said, “If you are forced to bill 45 hours a week and do many more hours of internal work, how can it not?”

Another affected employee expressed surprise at the reasons for their dismissal, pointing out, “I know a partner who will do two [client] calls and switch their camera on and off depending on who he’s talking to. If this is unethical, then that is unethical, too.”

The underlying reason: avoiding fines. In 2022, EY faced a $100 million penalty from the Securities and Exchange Commission after it was discovered that some of its employees had cheated on the ethics exams required to maintain their Certified Public Accountant licenses. In order to prevent similar incidents from occurring, the firm has reportedly strengthened its ethics rules regarding employee training and examinations.

Back in 2022, Gurbir Grewal, the director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, expressed strong disapproval, stating, “This action involves breaches of trust by gatekeepers within the gatekeeper entrusted to audit many of our nation’s public companies. It’s simply outrageous that the very professionals responsible for catching cheating by clients cheated on ethics exams of all things.”

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