THE CULTURE OF CARING
Interview with Sonia Malaspina
Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director at Danone Italy & Greece and a member of Danone Italy’s Board of Directors. She previously served as Director of Human Resources for Italy & Greece. She pioneered the Parental Policy and the Caregiver Policy, which were later adopted as global corporate policies.
Caring is a concept that is not particularly appreciated or valued today. But in your experience and vision, it plays a crucial role, also from an economic perspective. Could you illustrate this for us??
The experience we have gained from the introduction of a company policy to support parenthood in 2011 and, later in 2020, to support care for the elderly and vulnerable, has shown that care at work has a significant potential value. In the book “Il Congedo Originale”, written with Marialaura Agosta, I have collected more than a decade of observations and practice.
From the analysis of hundreds of cases involving mothers, fathers, and individuals caring for elderly parents or vulnerable people, we have identified the development of crucial skills — skills that are indispensable in today’s digital and immersive economy.
Creativity and intelligence, proactivity and agility are essential now and will continue to be in the future.
Factors such as wellbeing, motivation, and enthusiasm, which drive performance in these areas, will become increasingly important.
To build high-performing teams, we need to take care of the people who are part of them. As corporate workforces, like our country’s general population, are ageing and often include carers, it is particularly important to support those who care for others.
I strongly believe that caring should be valued in the workplace.
We need to care for people and encourage them to care for themselves, others and the environment.
Such an approach maximises employee engagement and creates both social and economic impact.
Why does fostering a culture of caring in organisations improve performance?
Because people need to be CONSIDERED and managed as whole human beings.
It cannot be ignored that employees are also parents, children, or caregivers.
When organisations understand and support individuals through difficult times, those same individuals give back by contributing to the well-being, engagement and performance of the organisation.
How does caregiving—such as taking care for a family member—enhance management skills? Which skills in particular?
We have found that skills like goal-oriented work, prioritizing, and managing complexity are naturally developed through caring — especially when caring for children, the elderly, or vulnerable people. CarING acts as a natural training ground, and when people return to work, they are better professionals.
For example, when a mother is supported to reintegrate after maternity leave, we see an enhanced and strengthened skill set—critical in today’s digital workplace, where hierarchical structures and siloed working models have been replaced by teamwork, collaboration, and effective information flow management.
During caregiving experiences, individuals develop skills such as Empathy, Active listening, Resilience, Crisis and contingency management, PrioritiSation.
This leads me to believe that, in the medium to long term, caregiving experiences are beneficial from an organisational perspective and represent an investment with significant returns.
What methods did you use to measure caregivers’ skills?
We measured the self-perception of individuals before and after their caregiving experience.
The results were then validated by managers and through direct observation using the methodology developed by Lifeed.
How can companies create an environment that allows individuals to leverage their life experiences and apply them professionally?
By fostering an inclusive work environment where people feel free to express themselves.
Corporate culture is a fundamental factor—especially for the new generations’ approach to work.
For all post-COVID generations, a stimulating work environment—where they can learn new things, build strong relationships, and have open communication with colleagues and managers—is a crucial factor in deciding whether to join or stay with a company.
This is why workplace culture is so important, as high turnover is a significant cost to any organisation.
What role does recruitment play in creating a workplace that values the skills of carers? Does this criterion also help in selecting people with an innate inclination towards a caring culture?
Absolutely, yes.
Our corporate culture is based on a balance between care and challenge. These two elements need to be well integrated. Like athletes, caring enables us to achieve outstanding performance and results.
Similarly, we evaluate candidates based on their commitment to continuous self-improvement—those who care about themselves, others, and the planet.
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