Workbalance Program

Workbalance Program

Línea Directa is certified by the Fundación Más Familia as family responsible companies with a proactive B+ level. The Más Familia Foundation awards the EFR (“Family-conscious company”) certification to Spanish companies that are strongly committed to work-life balance through their own work-life balance management model, which the certified companies must develop internally. Following the last audit carried out by a third party, which was passed in October 2022, more than 130 measures that the company uses to promote work-life balance were analyzed, which are available through the employee portal and are based on the following principles:

1. Quality in employment
2. Flexibility in space and time
3. Employee family support
4. Professional development
5. Equal opportunity

Línea Directa is particularly committed to employee family support for whom it has implemented a series of measures related to maternity and paternity such as:

• Employees are entitled to enjoy 16 weeks of paid parental leave plus 15 working days of breastfeeding leave, as established by the Spanish Royal Decree-Law 6/2019, March 1. The company has decided to supplement the salary of its employees during this type of leave: Línea Directa will pay the difference between the benefit that the employee receives from Social Security and the remuneration that they would be entitled to if they were working.
• Línea Directa additionally allows 5 days of breastfeeding leave to be taken within 12 months after returning to work, whereas by law they must be taken at nine months after the baby is born in order not to be lost.
• The company has established lactation rooms in all its buildings, equipped with refrigerators, to support breastfeeding by providing a suitable space for milk expression and storage while employees are in the office.
• Línea Directa has negotiated with nurseries in the vicinity of its work centers so that its employees can benefit from advantageous conditions, including significant discounts and schedules adapted to the office hours of Línea Directas´s employees.
• In relation to family support in general, Línea Directa has enabled paid leave for its employees in cases of dependent family members or relatives who have to receive treatment to fight cancer.
• Furthermore, Línea Directa provides its employees with a license for blocks of hours to accompany their dependent family members (parents,  children…) to medical appointments or tasks that require their presence. This license is enjoyed by hours, meaning that employees can be absent from their workday for a few hours to attend to these duties and then return to work. There are 8 blocks of 3 hours each per year.
• Since 2023, in Spain, all employees with children under 8 years old can request up to 8 weeks of parental leave (unpaid), which they can take either all at once or in separate weeks. 
• Additionally, the company provides employees with a 4-day emergency leave per year to address urgent issues related to their children.
• Employees have a personal leave permit, which allows them to change their work shift or recover those hours at another time. This facilitates the balance between personal, and professional life. Additionally, they can request up to three days of unpaid personal leave.
• In this regard, Línea Directa also implements a 100% flexible holidays system, allowing employees to divide their vacation time as they wish.

Work-time options

Línea Directa, in its commitment to the balance between employees’ personal and professional lives, has developed a flexibility management system consisting of various flexibility measures and part-time work options.

• All employees in back-office departments have flexibility in their working hours.
• Front office employees have the possibility to opt for partial working hours. The first option available to employees is to work a fixed morning shift, a fixed afternoon shift, or rotate between morning and afternoon shifts to facilitate work-life balance. The second option, still in the pilot phase, involves distributing their workday by spending part of it during regular hours and the rest at another time. The third option, also in the pilot phase, is to work four days a week. In all these cases, employees’ participation in this system is entirely voluntary.

It is also important to highlight the implementation of a new flexiwork model, which provides all employees with the possibility of working from home 6 days a month and which has enabled Línea Directa to gain in agility and efficiency, as well as optimizing working times and, at the same time, to focus on the flexibility and well-being of the employee as the main driving force of the organization, in order to achieve its ambitious medium and long-term objectives.

Wellbeing program

For Línea Directa, the health and well-being of its employees are fundamental pillars for the company’s smooth operation. The well-being and health program (‘Well-being for Wellness’) promotes an annual action plan among employees, focusing on awareness and improvement related to our employees’ health and well-being. The key components of the plan include:

• Actions related to sports
• Actions related to nutrition
• Actions related to mental health
• Actions related to financial well-being

In 2023, the program emphasized mental health, with a focus on raising awareness to address anxiety or extreme concern. Mindfulness masterclasses were also provided to our employees. 

Likewise, as part of the company’s wellness and health programme, the Caring for People programme was launched for business team leaders. Delivered by a clinical psychologist specialising in occupational health, this programme helps managers recognise emotional situations, take the emotional temperature of their teams and learn to take care of themselves in order to be able to take care of others. This is psychosocial training as part of the company’s commitment to the emotional well-being of its employees.

Additionally, in celebration of World Health Day, employees can attend various activities, including a talk on emotional well-being by specialized personnel from the Red Cross NGO.

These described actions are just a sample of the comprehensive well-being program for our employees. Through all these initiatives, the company aims to raise awareness about self-care, which in turn impacts company metrics such as absenteeism—closely tied to employees’ health status and well-being perception. The company invests in the well-being program as a lever to reduce absenteeism rates and achieve our established goals in this area for 2023, which continue into 2024.
 

Absentee rate	Unit	FY 2020	FY 2021	FY 2022	FY 2023	Target for 2023 and target for 2024
Employees	% of total days scheduled	4.6%	5.7%	6.05%	8.11%	<8%

 

Wellbeing survey

For Línea Directa Group, people are at the forefront of all decisions. Its corporate values determine the way it treats its employees and makes its decisions. 

The relationship with employees is, above all, human and close. This closeness and transparency in the professional relationship generates an atmosphere of trust, which is the essential component for all employees to feel cared for and listened to.

A good example of this commitment is the launch of a new holistic and sophisticated measurement that allows conclusions to be drawn by type of employee, according to their life cycle in the organization. Among the results of this latest survey called “Employee Experience”, employees rated their commitment to the company with an 84 out of 100.

The “Employee experience” survey is carried out every two years and is launched to more than 95% of the Group's workforce. In 2023, the company established, as one of its main targets, to maintain the commitment ratio at values similar to those of the previous consultation (85%).

This survey is divided into the following topics, of which some examples of questions asked are shown:

Employee experience and happiness

• I feel that at Línea Directa I can satisfy my professional needs in the next 3 years
• I feel that the company takes care of the moments that are important to me. 
• Most notable feeling/emotion in Línea Directa.

Effectiveness of line manager and management

• My manager helps me set challenging goals.
• I can count on the help of my manager to achieve my goals.
• I can share my ideas with my manager.
• I periodically share time with my manager (team, individual, formal or informal meetings)
• I feel that my manager leads by example
• Through my manager I feel involved in the changes that are taking place at Línea Directa
• I have the opportunity to talk to my manager about my professional development

Purpose and motivation

• My manager encourages collaboration within the team
• Knowing my objectives helps me understand the impact of my work on achieving the company's objectives
• Agility and innovation
• Within my job I have experienced changes to be more efficient and digital
• We adapt quickly to the new team composition

Confidence

• I am confident in the future and success of the company in the medium term. 

Job satisfaction and commitment

• General satisfaction with Línea Directa.
• I feel committed to Línea Directa 
• I am proud to work at Línea Directa
• Degree of connection with Línea Directa.​
• I would recommend Línea Directa as a good place to work to a friend or family member
• During the next 12 months I plan to change companies.

Performance enhancement and stress level

• I have the necessary preparation to live up to the demands of my job.
• The company offers me resources for my self-learning
• I meet every year with my manager to talk about my performance
• The conversation with my manager helps me guide my professional development

Diversity, equality and work-life balance

• I feel that Línea Directa promotes equality between men and women.
• I feel that at Línea Directa there are different measures that facilitate the integration of people with disabilities or those at risk of exclusion. 
• I feel that at Línea Directa there is fair treatment regardless of nationality, age, beliefs, sexual orientation and any other personal circumstance. 

Other aspects 

• I know Línea Directa's ethical code and can consult it on the intranet if necessary
• When I make decisions related to my work, I take into account the company's ethical principles.