The family of a Microsoft engineer who passed away while working late at the office is asking big tech companies to stop pushing their employees to the point of exhaustion.

Pratik Pandey, 35, from Menlo Park, California, had resumed work at Microsoft’s Mountain View campus at around 7:50 p.m. on August 19.

Hours later, around 2 a.m., he was found lying face-down in the courtyard, his uncle Manoj Pandey told the Palo Alto Daily Post.

A preliminary report from the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner revealed that he most likely died of a heart attack, according to Satish Chandra, an IT professional and community leader running for city council.

Although Pandey had no known medical conditions, he had recently told his roommate and colleagues that he was overwhelmed with stress and pressure, taking on multiple projects at the same time. His family believes this may have contributed to his sudden death.

His uncle urged tech companies to pay attention to employees working late at night and take active steps to ease their stress and anxiety. He said such actions could save lives and prevent families from going through the pain of losing a loved one too soon.

Police in Mountain View confirmed that no suspicious activity was linked to his death, and the case is not being treated as a crime.

Family members described Pandey as a hardworking and positive young man who often worked into the night. Despite his busy schedule, he loved soccer, ping pong, and cricket.

Originally from Indore, India, Pandey moved to the United States about a decade ago to study for his master’s degree at San Jose State University.

Over the years, he built a career in technology, working at Apple, Illumina, and Walmart Labs before joining Microsoft in July 2020. At the time of his death, he was part of the team working on Microsoft’s Fabric data analytics platform.

His uncle confirmed that his body will be sent back to India, where his parents and two sisters live.