Applications Open for Workplace Excellence Awards Amid Rising Retention Challenges

Registrations are officially open for The Hindu Best Places to Work 2027 Awards, powered by WorkL, with the deadline set for February 26, 2027.

The Changing Workplace

WorkL data for 2026 shows employee engagement in India has dropped to 78%, falling three percentage points from the previous year. Job satisfaction has slipped to 80%, while employee flight risk has climbed three percentage points to reach 14%. At the same time, reward and recognition scores dropped four percentage points to 75%, matching a four-point decline in information sharing down to 78%. Workplace wellbeing also saw a decline, dropping three points to 77%.

Technology and Pressure

India leads global artificial intelligence integration, with ADP Research's People at Work 2026 Report showing that 80% of Indian employees use AI multiple times a week and 41% use it daily. Microsoft's 2026 Work Trend Index notes that 32% of Indian professionals are frontier users working with AI agents in complex workflows. This rapid automation has created a productivity paradox where manager expectations have risen without a matching increase in the valuation of human effort, while Global Capability Centres across India now host over 2,000 facilities employing nearly 2.4 million professionals.

Context

The Hindu Best Places to Work awards use a 27-question framework created by behavioural scientists and psychologists to help organisations measure engagement and spot structural issues early. Such corporate evaluations rely on employee surveys to assess morale, management communication, and daily working conditions.