Media

Unicef, with the short film 'This company is a big family' focus on work-life balance

With Think Cattleya, Saatchi & Saatchi and SDA Bocconi, a new initiative aimed at companies is taking shape to promote family-friendly working environments and Esg policies geared towards the well-being of employees' children

by Andrea Biondi

13 May 2025

3' min read

3' min read

A short film to talk about welfare, children's rights and corporate culture. But, above all, a project with concrete benefits for companies and their employees. It is entitled 'This company is a big family' the new short film launched by Univcef Italia in collaboration with Think Cattleya and Saatchi & Saatchi. The video - directed by Igor Borghi - is available from 12 May on unicef.it/companies/familyfriendly and represents the leading content of the campaign in support of the Family Friendly Workplace Initiative, the programme that Unicef promotes to accompany Italian companies towards management models that are more attentive to work-life balance and child protection.

Underpinning the initiative is a precise managerial framework, supported by the development of technical tools by SDA Bocconi School of Management, with the aim of providing companies with operational frameworks to implement corporate policies capable of generating both internal and reputational value.

Objectives and Targets

The Family Friendly Workplace Initiative primarily targets large companies, proposing an approach to human resources management that considers the welfare of employees' children as a shared responsibility between company and worker. Particular attention is paid to the first 1,000 days of a child's life, a period recognised by numerous studies as crucial for cognitive, emotional and physical development.

The adoption of family-friendly policies,' Unicef emphasises, 'contributes to reduced work stress, improved productivity, and greater employee loyalty, as well as aligning with the UN's ESG criteria and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For companies, it is also a competitive advantage in the war for talent, in a context marked by a growing need for inclusiveness and social sustainability.

The short film

In the short film, set during a company meeting at the end of the year, a voice-over accompanies the viewer amidst objectives, business plans and reminders of performance. But in parallel, images of everyday life flow by: absent parents at school plays, delays on the way out of school, missed moments. A story that aims to stimulate reflection on how corporate culture, too often unbalanced on the logic of productivity, can be revised to put people at the centre.

'Think Cattleya,' explains Martino Benvenuti, general manager and executive producer, 'has always built an inclusive reality for its employees. We protect new parents, new mothers and new fathers, with a company welfare policy aimed at protecting families. We boast a very low turnover rate, a sign that for us every resource is a real asset'.

The role of enterprises

The Unicef initiative intercepts some of the most relevant challenges in today's labour market: the falling birth rate, the gender gap in pay and career, the ineffectiveness of some parental leave policies. Issues on which the legislator is also called upon to intervene, but on which companies can and must act autonomously.

"As Unicef," emphasises Paolo Rozera, Director General of Unicef Italy, "we have always promoted the well-being of children and adolescents. Having the right time to create a family balance allows parents and caregivers to be able to invest in the lives of children and to develop a healthier and more productive approach to work. I would like to thank Think Cattleya, Saatchi & Saatchi and SDA Bocconi for being by our side since the beginning of this initiative".

For his part, Stefano Caselli, Dean of SDA Bocconi, recalls how "At SDA Bocconi we often emphasise that the essence of being a school and a community is mutual exchange, which goes beyond individual training programmes, creating knowledge and impact. If this is true in our relations with the outside world, it must be all the more true in internal relations between those who, working with us, develop their professional and human potential. This is why we responded enthusiastically to the possibility of being a technical partner of UNICEF in the Family Friendly Workplace Initiative'.

Andrea BiondiVicecaposervizio
Luogo: Milano
Lingue parlate: Italiano, Inglese, Francese
Argomenti: Finanza, Media, Telecomunicazioni, Economia dell'entertainment, Innovazione
Scheda autore
Trust project