This is why Wunder is a certified family-friendly workplace

It's in Wunder’s DNA to respect the individuality of people, diverse needs and everyone’s private life. At Wunder, we believe that private and work-life should complement each other instead of disturbing and creating unnecessary stress.

According to European Quality of Life Survey*, 47% of employees in Latvia, 40% in Estonia and 26% in Finland admit that on a monthly basis it is difficult to fulfill family responsibilities because of the time spent at work. I'm quite sure that Wunder’s employees represent the other part of the statistics.

Since June 12, 2018, our care for people has also been recognised officially. Two years in a row, Wunder Latvia has received status and certificate of “Family-friendly workplace” which is granted by the Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia.

But nobody knows better than our employees – 93% of Wunderers confirms that people are encouraged to a healthy work-life balance**.

About the family-friendly workplace certificate

To strengthen the family values in society and to improve the family life and working environment, in 2004 the Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia started a project “Child-friendly company”. The project has now evolved into a yearly evaluation and certification. Since 2011, companies have been recognised in cooperation with the Sustainability Index***.

Companies receive a special certificate and badge that proves those companies carry out a family-friendly policy. The status is valid for one year. On June 11, 2019, the Ministry of Welfare granted a family-friendly status to 38 companies, Wunder Latvia among them.

So, how do we do it?

We offer different types of flexible work:

• Flexitime –  employees plan and manage working days by themselves. We have the freedom to choose when to start and end the work, as long as the work is done.
• Part-time – it's possible to agree on working less than full-time hours. This is an excellent solution e.g. for employees who are returning from maternity/paternity leave or who want to continue studies.
• Working remotely – it's ok to work from home or anywhere else than the office. Some of our teammates have also tried out workation**** option. 

Our offices are open to any visitors:

• Kids at the office – we have arranged special places for children with toys, puzzles, colouring pages etc. Most often, we have small visitors during the summer or after school.
• Pets at the office – it's totally fine to take your dog to the office (no other pets have tried this option so far) while it's OK for your teammates.
• Friends and relatives at the office – we are always happy to meet the closest people of our colleagues. So, lunchtime coffee with mom at the office - why not?
• Separate rooms – in all of our offices we have separate meeting rooms which allow finding privacy if needed.

We build relationships on a personal level:

• Family events – we organise events where family members are welcome, so we can meet the people who are supporting our teammates outside the office.
• Constant communication – we maintain communication with people who are on maternity, paternity or longer sick leaves and involve them in company decisions, activities and events.
• Special occasions – we congratulate and support our people when special events happen in their lives. We share happy moments. It's normal to receive an exciting message from a newborn's parent in the company's general Slack channel.

Why do we do it?

It may seem that employees are the only winners from the activities and policies mentioned above but actually, it's also beneficial for the business.

It's all about employee wellbeing and happiness, which leads to higher commitment and, of course, productivity. Only in such environment innovations and creativeness can live.

Family-friendly activities are also essential factors in building employer branding and company image. It helps to attract new talents and even more importantly  – ensure the existing employees to stay.

We believe that by sharing our good practices, we can also inspire and encourage others to become better and more open. All together we can bring changes to the business world.

* European Quality of Life Survey 2016opens-in-a-new-tab
** Employee satisfaction survey “Great Place to Work”, 2019
*** Sustainability index is a strategic management tool aimed to help companies in establishing the level of sustainability and responsibility. Another purpose of the initiative is to praise and support the enterprises contributing to the long‑term sustainability of Latvian economy, environment, and society. The methodology is developed by the Institute for Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility.
**** A working vacation, where you go to an exotic location and work from there while spending free time sightseeing, travelling and exploring new places.