With a mission to improve quality of life, Sodexo continually strives to empower employees to lead their best lives. Recognised by Family Friendly Workplaces, Sodexo now stands as an accredited 'Family Inclusive Workplace', with proven human resource practices and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies that align with the National Work & Family Standards benchmark.
Embracing a diverse workforce has always been an integral part of Sodexo’s vision. We firmly believe that our strength lies in supporting our people across various stages of their lives, in their distinct roles and diverse careers, while promoting equal participation and respect for all at work.
The Journey Towards Enhanced Work-Life Balance
Part of Sodexo's journey to enhance work-life balance has been the implementation of an organization-wide gender-neutral parental leave policy. To adequately support our employees welcoming new family members, we have joined forces with workplace gender equality experts, Grace Papers. Their expertise guides us in continuously refining our policies and initiatives.
Notably, we have taken a significant progressive step by extending fully paid parental leave to 14 weeks. This leave is accessible to all caregivers and parents, highlighting efforts to ensure inclusivity across the board.
In the last calendar year, we were proud to see male caregivers representing a third of our people accessing parental leave. Evidence that our gender-neutral parental leave policy is effectively challenging gender stereotypes, and further enabling parents to flexibly adopt or alter the primary caregiver role. Just as we understand that parental leave isn't a 'one size fits all' solution, we also know it requires flexibility to meet each family's unique needs.
Leading From the Top
Visible and vocal leadership has been instrumental in empowering many individuals to access family-friendly support from the organisation, with male leaders leading by example in taking primary or extended parental leave. Presently, Sodexo Australia’s senior leadership team is distinguished by an equitable gender split, wherein mothers from the cohort have actively accessed Grace Papers’ services to support their career and life aspirations.
The Benefits of Being a Family-Inclusive Workplace
When our people are satisfied, fulfilled, and proud, they are at their very best both professionally and personally. They embody their whole selves at work, which has an immensely positive impact on our business and the broader community.
Achieving Family Friendly Accreditation is not just a badge of honour for Sodexo, but also a testament to our continuous commitment towards creating an environment where employees can seamlessly balance their professional and personal lives. It reinforces the fact that at Sodexo, our people and their well-being are our greatest assets. We are constantly striving to be an employer of choice, and this accreditation brings us one step closer to that goal.
“Every single person in our diverse workforce leads rich and expansive lives outside of their time ‘on the clock’ with us, so naturally it is important to make the accommodations and investment in a working environment that empowers them to be as present in their family lives as in their professional.
Says Keith Weston, Managing Director Sodexo Australia:
Sodexo is proud to deliver a family-inclusive workplace that supports our people in achieving work-life balance that is vital for personal and professional fulfilment.”