Introduction:

Workplace well-being, constituting an individual's positive state encompasses positive emotions, potential development, life control, purpose and positive relationships (Kowalski & Loretto, 2017; Ruggeri et al., 2020)[12,16]. It significantly influences an organisation's long-term effectiveness, encompassing physical environment quality, job satisfaction; work culture and organisation structure (International Labour Organisation). With an escalating focus on well-being in organisational psychology, workplace stress has gained prominence, linked to employee well-being and perception of the workplace (WHO, 2020)[22]. Workplace well-being has emerged as a crucial area of interest in the field of psychology and research conducted on the significance of well-being in an organisational setting is becoming increasingly valuable in today’s times. (Jaiswal and Arun, 2020)[7]. Despite the fact that workplace well-being and attitudes towards employees suffering from stress or mental illness have recently been the focus of research in the field of positive psychology, it remains a neglected aspect across many countries, particularly in India. (Maulik, 2017)[13]. The global pandemic created the necessity for widespread remote work, which has exacerbated well-being concerns, affecting individuals physically, mentally, economically and socially (Al-Jubari et al., 2022). This qualitative study compares workplace well-being in India before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on healthcare professionals, schoolteachers and corporate employees- three understudied settings in the Indian context. The study aims to better understand the challenges and benefits of pandemic-induced workplace changes, with a focus on employee well-being. Given the pandemic's disruptive impact on workplace dynamics, this study analyses the resulting difficulties and advantages to improve our understanding of how these changes affect employee well-being.