Wunder is Recognized as an Honorable Employer in Latvia
The stronger the family, the stronger the society. Creating a supportive work environment that values work-life balance and promotes inclusivity is not only beneficial to our employees but also contributes to building a stronger society.
We are proud to announce that Wunder has been awarded the prestigious title of Honorable Employer by the Society Integration Foundation (SIF) of LatviaOpens in a new tab. Out of 165 companies holding the family-friendly employer certificate, Wunder is one of 10 organizations to receive the Honorable Employer recognition.
“I am happy and proud of this appraisal! It is a nice surprise that our culture and initiatives have been noticed and recognized. Many companies and organizations in Latvia take good care of their employees and make an extra effort to ensure a more pleasant and inclusive working environment and conditions. The business environment has experienced a value shift during the last decade, moving to a more human-centric approach. And such state-level Family-friendly programs and certifications are a great source of inspiration, motivation, and mutual learning.”
The award ceremony was a part of the very first “Family Friendly Society” conference organized by SIF. The first part of the conference was targeted to introduce the audience with the development and the results the SIF has achieved. Later on, getting some insights from other nominees experiences nurturing Family-friendly employer status and also discovering new challenges in work-life balance – highlighting mobility as one of them. The conference concluded with workshops, where participants were able to discuss, brainstorm, and present their ideas about topics such as work-life balance, the creation of Family-friendly environments, and collaboration opportunities.
“The event took place in a significant cultural monument of Latvia – Mežaparks open-air stage – a place where this year the Latvian Song and Dance Festival will be celebrated. It is a huge event in my family, as I will be one of more than 40 000 participants performing there, therefore creating an extra commotion for me, and, I am sure, for the other participants as well. About the conference - I was positively surprised by how the diversity matters were considered in all aspects, including dietary preferences, excellent technical support on translations, and all-day-long sign language interpretation. Such events serve as a great example of how to ensure a friendly environment for everyone.”
So, why Wunder? The family concept in Wunder is way broader than defined by the law. For us, family is everyone who is at our side and supports us outside the work environment – be it a spouse, sibling, child, best friend, or pet. We welcome everyone to our offices and also to the annual Family Day. Care of each other, mutual trust, and freedom of choice are the cornerstones of our culture that strongly supports different initiatives and activities related to work-life balance. Year-by-year employee satisfaction surveys show that flexible working time and remote work are the most valued benefits that allow employees to plan the day following their needs and easily integrate hobbies, voluntary work, and family duties throughout the week, not only weekends or evenings.
We constantly strive to improve the working environment and try out different new initiatives. For example, last year, we organized a 5-months long wellbeing campaign High 5 for Wellbeing, defined Safe space principles, used a SIF grant to offer children daycare at the Valmiera office during the summer, and continued to spend time together outside work in WunderFitness challenge to exchange active km to a donation.
Wunder has been recognized as a family-friendly employer in Latvia since 2019. And since 2020, Wunder is also certified family-friendly workplace in Estonia.
The Society Integration Foundation of Latvia is a government-supported organization that promotes social integration and cohesion in Latvia by implementing various projects and initiatives. The Honorable Employer Award is given to companies that demonstrate outstanding practices in supporting employees and their families and promoting diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.