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India to hold its first ‘workplace happiness’ awards in Mumbai
A new initiative wants to make employee wellbeing a boardroom priority, not an afterthought
MUMBAI: India’s corporate world has a new trophy to chase, and this one is not for profits or market share. Happiest Places to Work has announced the country’s first awards dedicated entirely to workplace happiness, with the inaugural ceremony set to be held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai towards the end of July.
The timing is deliberate. As employee experience increasingly shapes business outcomes, the awards aim to shift the conversation from perks and policies to something harder to fake: how people actually feel at work. Entries are open to organisations across sectors and sizes, and the evaluation process is designed to cut through corporate spin, combining a structured Happiness Dialogue, a culture audit and a final jury review to produce measurable insights into employee experience.
The awards will be chaired by Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG Group, and judged by a heavyweight jury that reads like a who’s who of Indian business and human resources. It includes Achal Khanna, chief executive of SHRM for the Asia-Pacific and MENA regions, Harit Nagpal, managing director and chief executive of Tata Play, Pavitra Singh, chief human resources officer at PepsiCo India and South Asia, and Sunita Cherian, former chief culture officer at Wipro, among others.
“Workplace happiness is becoming central to how organisations grow and perform,” said Goenka. “Platforms like these help bring that conversation to the forefront.”
Raj Nayak, founder of Happiest Places to Work, was more direct. “Organisations often overlook the everyday employee experience,” he said. “These awards recognise companies that get it right consistently, where how people feel at work truly matters.”
India’s corner offices have long measured success in revenue, headcount and market capitalisation. If this initiative takes hold, employee happiness may finally earn a place on that list.
The question now is whether the companies that need it most will bother to enter.
