SafetyCulture, Atlassian named as Best Places to Work in a year focused on wellbeing and flexibility

Great Place To Work has announced its 2022 Australia’s Best Workplaces list, with SafetyCulture and Atlassian each taking home the third spot in their respective categories of medium and large businesses.

The annual list is a ranking driven by employee-reported feedback that validates company culture, in which Great Place To Work says the winners are “characterised by a range of important elements including wellness and flexibility and diversion and inclusion”.

SafetyCulture champions such elements, with chief people officer Anna Wenngren saying staff are drawn to the company because it actively tries to make sure every employee has the opportunity to make an impact.

“Alongside our focus on culture, we also believe in providing benefits that incentivise and enhance the experience our people have each day. Not only do we offer the opportunity for people to do some of the best work in their career, but we make sure that they can enjoy themselves while they do it,” Wenngren said.

SafetyCulture began as a tech startup built in a Townsville garage, and has now grown to a 423-person strong business with headquarters in Sydney, NSW and offices in the UK, USA, Amsterdam and the Phillipines.

Meanwhile, on the bigger end of town, Atlassian ranked third for businesses employing 1000 or more staff.

Atlassian has been a frequent feature on Australia’s Best Workplaces list, and this year, 95% of employees responded to the survey to say it’s a great place to work compared, to 56% of employees at a typical Australia-based company.

A massive 98% said they are able to take time off from work when necessary, while 97% said they are proud to work at Atlassian; are made to feel welcome; their work-life balance is encouraged; and that management is honest and ethical in its business practices.

Atlassian is known for its pioneering of the work-from-home model, with its “Team Anywhere” stance coming into effect for the business back in April last year.

“There is great talent all over the world — not just within a one hour radius of our offices,” co-founder Scott Farquhar tweeted in response to Elon Musk’s WFH criticisms in June.

And as the recent ranking shows, employees seem to be happy with such a flexible working arrangement.

In a statement, Great Place to Work Australia managing director Roland Wee said this year there was an increased focus in wellness and mental health support, as well as “great strides in flexibility”.

“The best employers are proactively offering flexible, hybrid work arrangements for their employees. They recognise that employees appreciate and thrive in this model of flexible working,” he said.

“The very best are engaging their people in designing what the future of work looks like, experimenting and adjusting policies as they go.”

The full list of Australia’s Best Workplaces 2022 can be found here.