Responsibility for people
How employers support health, safety and balance
Health, safety, work-life balance and support in difficult situations form the foundation of a responsible people policy. In our Friendly Workplace assessments, we look at solutions that genuinely respond to the working conditions of different employee groups. Examples from PZU, Henkel, Polpharma, Budimex, Mondi, Danone, Haleon and T-Mobile show how broad this approach can be.
Well-being starts with how work is organized
Employers are developing health programs that cover prevention, education, physical activity and psychological support. Their real impact, however, also depends on how teams function: workloads, predictable working hours, access to help and the culture of management.
A resilience program is worth more when it goes hand in hand with responsible work planning. Flexible hours help only when employees can actually use them. Likewise, private medical care complements appropriate safety standards; it does not replace them.
That is why, in Friendly Workplace, we assess work-life balance, a healthy workplace and benefits as three interconnected areas. This allows us to consider both what an employer offers and how the working environment is designed.
From individual initiatives to a coherent strategy: PZU and Henkel
The #DobryStan strategy, developed by the PZU Group since 2021, covers vital energy, mental resilience and an optimal working style. The program’s strength lies in its consistency and in combining educational, preventive and organizational measures, elements we highlighted in our editorial assessment.
The practices presented included the Letnia Szkoła Dobrostanu (Summer Well-being School), psychological support and the “Karty Dobrych Praktyk Pracy Hybrydowej” (Hybrid Work Good Practice Cards). The latter are particularly significant: they show that well-being also depends on everyday rules of collaboration and on how meetings are run.
Henkel Polska consistently develops health initiatives, including programs that build mental resilience. Another important element of our assessment was the role of managers in creating conditions that support well-being. Leaders shape how work is organized, how teams communicate and how overload is addressed.
A mature approach to mental health includes both help for the individual employee and the organization’s responsibility for the conditions in which work is done.
Professional help should be easy to access
In difficult life situations, access to professional help becomes especially important. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) give employees access, under the terms set by the employer, to psychological support and sometimes also to legal or financial advice.
Haleon Poland presented a support program delivered with Lyra, which also extends to employees’ immediate family members. At Barry Callebaut SSC Europe, we rated positively the access to individual psychological consultations, complemented by initiatives focused on activity and recovery. T-Mobile Polska, meanwhile, developed its qZdrowiu program and preventive health measures, including check-ups organized directly in its offices.
These solutions become more valuable when employees know what help is available, are assured of confidentiality and face as few organizational barriers as possible. In our editorial assessments, we recognize employers that treat access to support as a permanent part of their people policy.
In manufacturing and construction, safety comes first
In industrial and infrastructure organizations, safety is the foundation of a friendly working environment. At Polpharma, we highlighted an occupational health and safety management system certified to ISO 45001 and the “Stop Wypadkom” (Stop Accidents) program. In its profile for the 2025 edition, the company reported 2,326 hazards that had been reported and eliminated.
The value of this approach lies in involving employees in identifying risks and responding to hazards. As a result, accident prevention becomes part of everyday organizational practice.
At the Mondi Świecie plant, we highlighted measures suited to the realities of a production site: safety training, hazard identification, ergonomics, preventive healthcare and communication at departmental level.
Budimex, in turn, runs “Fundamenty Zdrowia” (Foundations of Health), a program in place since 2023. We rated positively its broad scope, from prevention to mental health and ergonomics, and the fact that its initiatives also reach construction sites. In a sector where work takes place across many locations, this is particularly important.
Safety and prevention should be available wherever employees do their work.
Prevention works when it reaches people
Solutions that make it easier for employees to use preventive healthcare deserve recognition. T-Mobile Polska organized blood tests, dermatoscopy and ultrasound scans in its offices. The company also introduced fully paid time off for preventive check-ups as part of its own “Czas dla Zdrowia” (Time for Health) campaign and joined the Rak’n’Roll Foundation’s “Dzień na U” program. In its description of activities for 2024, the company reported 850 participants in blood tests, 418 in ultrasound scans and 250 in dermatoscopy.
Here, we highlighted the reduction of organizational and time barriers. Access to check-ups at the workplace and the option of paid time off make it easier to build prevention into everyday life.
The choice of health initiatives should reflect the needs of the team and the risks specific to a given working environment. For dispersed organizations, it is also important to ensure access for employees across different locations and business units.
Balance requires solutions that fit the work
Work-life balance is often associated with hybrid working. For many people, however, predictable schedules, the ability to plan family life, time to recover and respect for the boundaries between work and rest matter just as much. In production plants, services or logistics, the right solutions may look different than in an office.
At the Danone group of companies, we rated positively the hybrid model, the option to work temporarily from other European Union countries under Workation rules, and “Akcja-regeneracja” (Recharge Campaign). The latter encouraged employees to plan their rest consciously, for example by blocking lunch breaks in the calendars of some teams. We valued this practical support for taking time to recover.
A production environment requires different solutions. At the Mondi Świecie plant, the organization of shift work and consultation on rules affecting the predictability of duties are particularly important. That is why an assessment of work-life balance must take into account the nature of the work and the needs of people employed under different working arrangements.
A mature work-life balance policy leaves room for life outside work while respecting the realities of individual roles.
Parenthood, caregiving and other life roles
Employees play many roles outside the organization: as parents, caregivers and family members. At Henkel Polska, we rated especially highly the “Urlop dla Rodzica Społecznego” (Social Parent Leave), described as eight weeks of fully paid leave that recognizes different forms of parenthood. We considered the inclusive nature of this solution and its recognition of diverse family situations particularly valuable.
Haleon Poland presented its Caregiver Leave, which, according to the published profile, provides up to 20 additional paid days a year for eligible caregivers. The program addresses the needs of people supporting loved ones through illness or loss of independence. In our view, it is an important example of recognizing caregiving responsibilities that go beyond parenthood.
At Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), we highlighted the “Wiele ról, jedno życie” (Many Roles, One Life) program, which takes a broader view of the different areas of employees’ lives. We see the value of this approach in its search for solutions that help people combine professional and personal responsibilities.
Danone also developed the “DANrodzice” (DANparents) community and family-friendly initiatives combining education and support. These programs show how varied employees’ needs can be and how important it is to reflect them in people policies.
Benefits that match real needs
Medical packages, sports benefits and vacation subsidies are valuable when they are clear, accessible and respond to specific life situations. When assessing programs, we therefore look at the usefulness of solutions and the freedom to choose.
At the Mondi Świecie plant, we rated highly the support for families, vacations and childcare, as well as help in difficult situations. At Barry Callebaut SSC Europe, the combination of flexible work, healthcare and initiatives co-organized by employees earned recognition. Haleon presented solutions that support employees with caregiving responsibilities, including Caregiver Leave.
The diversity of needs matters: the parent of a young child, someone commuting to a plant and an employee approaching retirement may expect different forms of support. Freedom of choice helps people make better use of the benefits available in the organization.
It is also worth checking whom a given benefit actually helps, how easy it is to use and whether the offer evolves as the team’s needs change.
The common thread: responsibility and continuity
Several features of a responsible approach recur across the practices we analyzed: prevention, linking support with the organization of work, access to solutions across different locations, attention to the diverse needs of employees and the continuous improvement of programs. These criteria allow us to assess solutions across industries without reducing them to a single catalog of benefits.
In this way, employers build a more stable working environment, and candidates gain concrete information about employment conditions. Among the practices we recognize, those that support employees both in everyday life and in more difficult moments are especially significant.
A friendly workplace means taking responsibility for safety, health and the ability to maintain balance. The practices of the organizations presented here show that care for people can become a lasting part of workplace culture, and it is precisely this approach that merits editorial recognition.
Sources: editorial assessments and profiles published on MarkaPracodawcy.pl. Friendly Workplace recognition is granted on the basis of an editorial assessment of the practices described by employers in their questionnaires; it does not constitute an audit of all working conditions or an independent survey of employee opinion. The examples and figures refer to the periods specified in those publications.
