Sun Life has been named a 2021 Top Place to Work by the Boston Globe, receiving the award for the fourth year in a row. The honor builds on Sun Life’s recognition for innovative employee programs, including several support initiatives during the pandemic and one of the most generous and inclusive paid family and medical leave plans in the country. This is the second consecutive year Sun Life has been in the top 10 of the largest employers in Massachusetts. Top Places to Work, which will be featured in print in this Sunday’s Boston Globe, recognizes the most admired workplaces in the state, voted on by the people who know them best—their employees. The survey measures employee opinions about their company’s direction, execution, connection, management, work, pay and benefits, and engagement.
Throughout the pandemic Sun Life has taken progressive approaches to employee support and flexibility, including allowing employees to flex their work time each week to support families while at home. The company also announced that, once offices reopen, employees will be able to choose how and where they work each day in the manner that best suits them and client needs, whether from home or in the office. Offices are being redesigned with more space for collaboration, events, training, and client meetings, with amenities and state-of-the-art technology.
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“We want the office to be a magnet, not a mandate,” said Dan Fishbein, M.D., president of Sun Life U.S. “We’ve learned from these past two years that the future of work does not mean going back to the way things were. It means embracing new employee dynamics into the future. We are excited to continue innovating and supporting our employees as our workforce evolves.”
“The pandemic has shown us how dedicated and engaged employees can be when they work from home and are given the trust and support to balance work and life,” said Tammi Wortham, senior vice president of Human Resources at Sun Life U.S. “We want to continue fostering that trust and empower our employees to know how and where they do their best work each day, with no required minimum days in the office.”
Sun Life has also taken steps to reexamine its business and career development practices to ensure they fully embrace and support diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) at the company. Allies Acting for Change, Sun Life’s internal employee group focused on improving DE&I, has made strides resulting in more inclusive hiring and retention practices, including the implementation of “stay” conversations and an increase in the hiring of Black professionals and other people of color. Sun Life employees have also engaged internal platforms to have meaningful discussions around racial bias and workplace equity, and reinforce and promote inclusive behaviors and language in the workplace. Through philanthropic initiatives Sun Life has broadened support of organizations that focus on underserved communities and seek to broaden access to health services and diversity education.
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In addition to generous paid family and medical leave, Sun Life offers a sabbatical program to allow employees extended time to engage in career or personal development activities, or simply unplug. Employees have been encouraged to take time where and when they can, even if it’s simply at home to spend time with family.
Sun Life has been recognized as a top workplace locally and nationally. In 2021 the company was named a Top Workplace by the Hartford Courant, and received the Top Workplaces USA award. Sun Life was also recognized this year by the National Partnership for Women and Families as a company Leading on Leave and has been named to the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index for the last five consecutive years. For 14 consecutive years, Sun Life has received a 100% score on the Human Rights Watch Corporate Equality Index, which measures workplace equality for LGBTQ+ workers. In addition to the Boston Globe Top Places to Work in 2020, Sun Life was named a Best-in-State Employer in Massachusetts by Forbes, and a Best Company to Work For in Kansas City by Ingram’s Magazine.
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