Redefining Employee Well-being
Originally published in The Corporate Citizen
General Mills, a Minnesota-based food company employing 38,000 people in more than 100 countries, prioritizes the well-being and full engagement of those employees. From expanding employee benefits to facilitating dialogue on difficult conversations in the workplace, the company has proven its commitment to supporting employees’ physical, social, and emotional well-being.
The company recognizes that to attract and retain the best employees, it must offer competitive benefits and fulfilling employee engagement opportunities. “General Mills has been making food people love for more than 150 years, and our employees have always been our secret ingredient,” said Jacqueline Williams-Roll, chief human resources officer at General Mills. “We want to keep innovating in how we meet their evolving needs.”
With this mindset, General Mills expanded parental leave and paid time off for both its salaried and nonunion production workers as of January 2019. This includes offering 18 to 20 weeks paid time off for new moms, and 12 weeks paid time off for new dads, partners, and adoptive parents. General Mills also introduced caregiver leave, and expanded its bereavement and shortterm disability plans. These enhanced policies build on the company’s longstanding culture of workplace flexibility, where salaried employees are welcome to work from home when necessary for their families.
