Great Place To Work Sri Lanka unveils inaugural List of Best Workplaces for Parents 2025

Great Place To Work has announced Sri Lanka’s first ever study for the Best Workplaces for Parents 2025, recognising organisations that are striving to create truly family-friendly and supportive work environments.

Parents in the workforce have thus far been an overlooked demographic who are under-appreciated for the skills and potential they bring to the table. Moreover, working parents face growing pressures that directly affect retention, engagement, and productivity, due to limited support. Developing and sustaining family-friendly policies that nurture a positive workplace experience, therefore, not only demonstrates care, but also a strategic advantage in maximising the full human potential of all employees including parents, as well as attracting and retaining top talent.  

This is why Great Place To Work Sri Lanka conducted a comprehensive study on the workplace experiences of employees with parental responsibilities, and in collaboration with Parenthood Global, recognised organisations who have fostered parent-friendly cultures.

The study spanned over 100 organisations and surveyed 64,000 employees, of which 33,000 respondents had parental responsibilities. The study period ran from November 2024 to July 2025 and only organisations that were Great Place To Work Certified during the study period qualified for evaluation. The 10 Best Workplaces for Parents were selected through the globally recognised Great Place To Work For All model, using two main components — the Trust Index™ survey (65% weightage of final score) and the Culture Audit (35% weightage of the score). An additional submission collected information about parent-friendly practices. The rigorous methodology ensured that employee feedback was statistically valid, anonymous, and verified through random audits.

The 10 Best Workplaces for Parents 2025, are AB Mauri Lanka Ltd., AmSafe Bridport Ltd., Classic Travel Ltd., Hayleys Plantations, Hilton, Intrepid Colombo Ltd., Marriott International, Omega Line Ltd., Toppan Forms (Colombo) Ltd., and Uzabase Inc.

The study revealed that pride stands out as the strongest focus area among employees with parental responsibilities, while manager integrity and ethical leadership emerged as key differentiators among the best workplaces. However, fairness in profit sharing and pay equity were identified as areas with room for improvement across the wider pool of surveyed organisations.

Great Place To Work Sri Lanka Director/CEO Kshanika Ratnayaka said, “Fostering family-friendly policies is not just a compassionate approach, it is a critical strategy for building sustainable workplaces that empower employees to thrive both personally and professionally. When organisations invest in supporting parents, they create an environment where all employees feel valued, motivated, and able to bring their best selves to work. Empowered parents, in turn, raise empowered children, helping to shape stronger generations and contributing to the long-term well-being of our society.”

A detailed report on the study’s findings is available on www.greatplacetowork.lk  offering in-depth insights and benchmarks for organisations seeking to understand the parental perspective and workplace trust.

The learning forum, Parent Inclusive Workplace Summit held in collaboration with Parenthood Global, will take place on 14 November 2025, where key learnings and best practices will be shared with business and HR leaders dedicated to advancing family-friendly workplaces.