Inclusion, merit and welfare the secrets of the winning companies

Second on the podium was Biogen Italia, which interprets the power of diversity as the uniqueness of the contribution that everyone can bring 'in an innovative and irreplaceable way'. 'Merit, balance and care,' says Cecilia Masserini, Head of Human Resources at Biogen Italia, 'are at the heart of our organisational strategy: our company has always believed that enhancing the diversity, talents and resources of people allows us to create an environment that promotes innovation and enables us to fulfil our mission: to put science at the service of humanity'.

The company is 67 per cent female and in the leadership team the female share is 60 per cent, a diversity that is a factor of richness and competitiveness: 'We are firmly attached,' says Masserini, 'to the belief that there is a close correlation between the well-being of employees and their engagement at work. When people are happy and satisfied with their work, they are more inclined to actively engage in their tasks and to be more innovative. This is because job satisfaction leads to greater intrinsic motivation, a more positive working environment, reduced stress, a greater propensity for creativity and innovation, and increased engagement. Investing in the well-being of our people has a significant impact on the overall success of the organisation'. So much so that Biogen has adopted BPositive, a cultural model that is based on neuroscientific evidence showing that happiness is a skill and can be trained as such. B-positive aims to create an environment that values the team approach over the individual and to care for individuals with a holistic approach to promote the well-being of mind, body, heart and brain. The company in this approach has the potential to become an ecosystem where people can improve their well-being, increase their awareness and fulfilment as individuals as well as professionals. And one of the most crucial aspects of well-being is the balance between private and professional life.

Biogen offers a range of benefits across the board, available to both men and women, including special leave such as, for example, the possibility of working short hours on Fridays during the summer and Christmas periods, paid leave for birthdays, volunteering, children's illnesses and 'wellness days' - days off from work that are not counted as holidays but are paid leave. Each employee also has the option of requesting four weeks of paid sabbatical after every six years in the company.

In addition to what is provided for by law, the company offers new fathers 10 days of paid paternity leave that can be taken within the year of the child's birth, adoption or fostering. A focus on parenthood that is also expressed through the support of a 'maternity buddy', a colleague who keeps new mothers informed during their absence about the company's main initiatives or innovations, and a master's course on parenting for all employees with children from 0 to 18 years of age. A focus that goes beyond the office walls and also extends to women in need: at European level, Biogen has participated in the Tent programme through the Sunflower project, a pan-European initiative of the Tent partnership for refugees focused on the economic inclusion of Ukrainian refugee women in Europe through better access to employment.

Certifying its commitment with concrete indicators, so that it can be measured and continue to improve, is the approach of SC Johnson, which has entered the Best workplaces for women ranking and has also obtained the Gender Equality Certification. "More than half of our people," explains Serena Colombo, Human Resources Director South Europe, "are women, at all levels of the organisation; in the management committee women are the overwhelming majority: this is not the result of the application of pink quotas, but of a caring environment that rewards merit and results. Being a family-owned multinational helps to make these values close, practicable and lived out in all the many initiatives and decisions, large and small, that are taken and implemented every day'. And when people are free to bring 'their true selves' to the company and feel appreciated for who they are. Listened to and valued they work better, on their own but above all in a team because they know they can count on mutual respect. "Feeling involved and responsible for the success of the company," he points out, "has undeniable positive repercussions on individual and collective performance. At SCJ, the initiatives proposed and implemented to keep our happiness and engagement rates high multiply and find fertile ground thanks to an ongoing dialogue that seeks to grasp what people's real interests are'.

Among the concrete measures implemented by the company in favour of a work life balance are free Friday afternoons, flexible working hours, and a parental policy, launched last year and open to all employees who have become parents through childbirth, adoption or fostering. "The parental policy,' Colombo explains, 'was created to support parenthood during all its phases: before birth with more flexible forms of work, at the time of birth with welfare tools, and afterwards through support (such as babysitting/daycare contributions) and greater flexibility when returning to work. A 'gender-neutral' policy that aims to protect the inclusion and work participation of women in the company, to encourage shared and balanced parenting regardless of family responsibilities. With an eye, therefore, on paternity: fathers in particular can enjoy 5 days of leave in addition to the 10 days required by law. All leave is monitored to verify its actual use.