Infosys, in partnership with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), has launched the Wellness Matters: Mental Health First Aider Training Manual, a practical guide designed to help employees recognise early signs of mental distress, offer peer support, and connect individuals with professional help. The initiative aims to promote a psychologically safe and inclusive workplace culture.
The manual covers key areas such as self-awareness, self-care, understanding mental health conditions, addressing substance use concerns, and developing basic counselling skills. It enables employees to identify early indicators of distress and provide timely assistance. Through a ‘training of trainers’ model, certified participants can further share this knowledge within their teams, helping to embed a culture of mental wellness across the organisation.
As part of the initiative, Infosys has trained all its Human Resource professionals in India as Mental Health First Aiders, establishing a crucial first-response network for employee support.
The manual is the outcome of a year-long collaborative effort between the Infosys wellness team and NIMHANS. The development process began with focus group discussions to assess employees’ well-being needs, followed by the design of tailored training programmes by a multidisciplinary team comprising psychiatric social workers, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and public health specialists from NIMHANS, along with Infosys’ Health Assessment & Lifestyle Enrichment (HALE) team.