Family Says Microsoft Engineer Was Driven to Death by Work Stress After He Was Found on Mountain View Campus

A software engineer at Microsoft was found dead on the company’s Mountain View, California, campus in the early hours of Aug. 20, and his family says unbearable work-related stress contributed to his death, according to interviews published by the Daily Mail.

The 35-year-old, identified by family as Pratik Pandey, was discovered slumped face down in a courtyard between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., security attempted CPR and he was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital, family members and published reports said. A provisional assessment suggested a cardiac arrest, and authorities said a formal cause of death could take up to 90 days.

Pandey’s family, who live in Indore in central India, told the Daily Mail he had been working late to meet targets and prepare for a performance review at the end of August. His mother was quoted as saying he was overburdened and urged tech companies not to place unrealistic expectations on employees. His sister said the engineer had faced high workloads in the run-up to a key assessment and had been juggling multiple projects.

The Mountain View Police Department said detectives found "no signs of any suspicious activity or behavior" and that the death is not being treated as a criminal investigation. Microsoft said a spokesman had no additional comment because investigations are ongoing: "Given investigations are ongoing, the company has nothing to share at this time," the company told media.

Pandey, who family members said immigrated to the United States about a decade ago to study at San Jose State University, had worked at Apple, Illumina and Walmart Labs before joining Microsoft in July 2020, according to the Daily Mail. His relatives said he was a keen sportsman who played soccer with colleagues the evening before he was found and returned to work later that night.

Family members said they were told of the death about 42 hours after Pandey was found, first by a short phone call from a human resources official and later by email. Relatives who travelled to the Bay Area to make arrangements said they were not given clear answers about how long he might have been unconscious before security discovered him and that they requested access to campus footage but were told there were limited cameras for privacy reasons.

Colleagues who spoke to the Daily Mail described being shocked when they learned of Pandey’s death and said his workspace, including a laptop and name tag, remained on his desk. One co-worker who asked to remain anonymous defended the local working culture and cited on-campus perks such as free health checkups and sports facilities, while also acknowledging that pressure to perform exists at large technology companies.

The case has drawn attention to workplace stress in the technology sector, where high-stakes product timelines and performance reviews can coincide with long hours. Family members urged employees to prioritize health, and said they hoped Pandey’s death would prompt companies to re-examine expectations placed on staff.

Mountain View police continue to work with the coroner and other agencies as they complete their investigation. Microsoft did not provide further details about internal inquiries, and the family is awaiting the official cause of death and any additional findings from authorities.