India's First Certified People's Workplace Recognition · 2026

India Now Has a Way to
Certify Workplaces
That Actually Care.

People First Workspace is a first-of-its-kind certification for organisations that put employee mental health at the centre of how they work — not just in their HR policy, but in everyday reality. It is assessed entirely through your people. Not a panel. Not a form. Your employees decide.

Not bought. Not sponsored. Earned.

Get Your Organisation Certified See How It Works
Award medal
The Mind and Company · Certified 2026
People First Workspace™
Certified by Your People. Verified by Experts.
100%
Employee voices
0
Cost to apply
3
Pillar framework
✓ Employee-led survey
✓ Zero pay-to-win
✓ Clinically validated
What Is This?

A Certification Built on One Simple Idea — Your People Know the Truth

Most organisations say they care about mental health. A poster. A wellness day. A helpline number buried in an email. People First Workspace was created because employees deserve more than that — and because the best companies already deliver more than that. We just give them a way to prove it.

This is India's first certification where your employees — not a judging panel, not a sponsor, not an HR committee — determine whether your organisation qualifies. We deploy a confidential psychometric survey directly to your people. Their honest responses are scored by clinical psychologists. If you meet the threshold, you are certified. Simple. Rigorous. Real.

Certify Your Organisation
  • Handpicked, not applied
    Organisations are identified through third-party employee signals, LinkedIn sentiment analysis, and referrals from our clinical partners. No organisation can nominate itself.
  • Survey-based, employee-driven
    A confidential, 60-question psychometric survey is deployed directly to employees. HR leadership cannot preview, intercept, or influence the results.
  • Scored by clinical psychologists
    Responses are analysed by MICO's in-house clinical team using evidence-based scoring models. No algorithm decides. Human judgment, guided by data, does.
  • Publicly auditable outcomes
    Every recipient organisation receives a detailed breakdown report. Aggregate findings are published annually. Nothing is hidden.
How We Assess

Three Things We Ask Your Employees.

We don't audit policies or review HR handbooks. We go directly to your people with a confidential, 60-question survey built around three pillars of genuine workplace mental health. All three must be strong. There is no averaging out.

01
Emotional Intelligence
Does your workplace feel safe to feel?
  • My manager acknowledges and validates emotions in difficult conversations
  • I feel comfortable expressing vulnerability at work without professional consequence
  • Emotional language is normalised in our team communications
  • Leadership models healthy emotional regulation under pressure
  • I have witnessed empathy-led decision making in my organisation
02
Psychological Safety
Can people speak without fear?
  • I can raise concerns about my mental health without risking my career
  • Mistakes are treated as learning opportunities, not career-defining events
  • Dissent and disagreement are actively welcomed by leadership
  • I have never self-censored due to fear of being labelled difficult
  • HR is seen as a confidential resource, not a management extension
03
Work-Life Integration
Is recovery built into the rhythm?
  • I am not implicitly penalised for disconnecting outside working hours
  • My organisation actively protects weekends, holidays, and recovery time
  • Workload is distributed in a way that prevents chronic overextension
  • Mental health days are available without requiring medical justification
  • I feel my whole self is welcomed here, not just my productive self
Why It Matters

What Being Certified
Means for Your Organisation

This is not a trophy for the shelf. Certification opens real, tangible advantages — in hiring, retention, culture, and credibility. Here is what it delivers.

Attract the Talent That Reads the Fine Print
Senior candidates — the ones you are competing hardest for — are now independently verifying employer culture claims before accepting offers. A People First Workspace badge is a third-party verification they can trust, because they know it cannot be gamed.
Reduce Attrition Before It Becomes a Cost
The survey process itself surfaces hidden friction. Most recognised organisations identify and resolve 2–4 systemic issues before the certificate is even issued. The award process is also a diagnostic tool — not just a reward.
Strengthen Your Employer Brand in Every Channel
Recipients receive a full brand asset kit: digital badge, LinkedIn banner, press release template, and a shareable results summary. Designed to work across careers pages, investor decks, and social media without overstatement.
A Board-Ready Report on Organisational Health
All participating organisations receive a confidential 40-page psychometric report benchmarked against sector peers. Ideal for presenting to boards, investors, or ESG committees seeking credible mental health disclosures.
"We have been recipients of four workplace awards. People First Workspace was the only one our senior leadership team could not prepare for — and the only one our employees actually believed."
— Chief People Officer, Participating Organisation (2025)
Get Certified

Ready to Find Out Where
Your Organisation Stands?

Fill in your details below. Our team will reach out to walk you through the process — what the survey covers, how it's administered, and what certification looks like for your organisation. No commitment needed at this stage.

Register for the 2026 People First Workspace Assessment
Open to organisations with 50+ employees across any sector. No fee. No obligation.
Confidentiality notice: This submission is reviewed only by MICO's clinical assessment team. No commercial team member accesses registration data before an assessment is formally agreed. Your employees will not be contacted without your explicit written consent.