From benefits to culture: what it means to care for wellbeing at AstraZeneca Italy

Reality is different — and far more interesting — because wellbeing is not a catalogue of benefits, but a personalized system. It lives in everyday organizational choices, in leadership behaviors, in the quality of time and spaces, in the clarity of boundaries between work and private life, and in the ability to listen. This is the direction AstraZeneca Italy has chosen to follow, through an approach that places diversity of needs and equity of access at the center, considering wellbeing as a driver of sustainable performance and social responsibility.

Beyond slogans: time, spaces, boundaries
Managing time and workloads is often the most underestimated aspect. Talking about burnout prevention means, first and foremost, discussing priorities, realistic goals, and clear processes. At AstraZeneca Italy, this translates into leadership that pays attention not only to results but also to methods, into structured moments of dialogue and listening between managers and employees, and into an explicit focus on sustainable planning. This is not a minor detail, because managing workloads responsibly means preserving energy and motivation.

Flexibility becomes part of the organizational architecture. Smart working models and flexible schedules are accompanied by tangible choices that impact real life, such as additional leave dedicated to medical appointments, volunteering, or temporary illness, as well as measures supporting shared parenting and caregiving responsibilities. In a multigenerational context, flexibility becomes a common language that allows people to find their own balance equation. Space matters too. The headquarters within MIND – Milano Innovation District was designed to foster collaboration and innovation, but the same attention is dedicated to employees working remotely or in the field, with the belief that the corporate community extends far beyond the boundaries of a building.

Within this framework, wellbeing also extends to safety. For example, employees who use company cars are offered safe-driving courses, a choice designed to protect personal safety in its broadest sense, both inside and outside working hours. And finally, boundaries matter.

Accessible wellbeing
For wellbeing not to become a privilege, inclusive infrastructures are essential. On the psychological side, AstraZeneca Italy has implemented structured programs whose access is extended not only to employees but also to their families, through partners such as ISSIM and the Wellhub platform, with services ranging from stress management to emotional awareness. The intervention does not stop at services alone; it is embedded within the corporate culture itself. A multi-year training program focused on emotional intelligence and psychological safety works on leadership development, promoting listening and empathy so that they become true organizational competencies. The same systemic approach is applied to physical health through prevention initiatives, health-promotion activities, check-up agreements, and targeted campaigns.

Building equitable welfare means moving beyond a one-size-fits-all approach toward a more ambitious principle: guaranteeing everyone the same opportunities for wellbeing while taking into account differences in roles, contexts, and life stages. This is why understanding real needs is essential, through internal surveys that explore the preferences and constraints people encounter throughout different phases of life. It is a form of equity that, as an evolving process requiring continuous adjustments, also depends on accessibility through intuitive digital tools, remotely accessible services, and clear communication. Continuous monitoring is an integral part of the project because it helps identify who is using the services and where invisible barriers may emerge.

Where culture takes shape
In this process, it is essential for leaders to lead by example by respecting boundaries, legitimizing disconnection, and personally embracing flexibility. In this way, self-care becomes a professional responsibility.

Performance and wellbeing must be integrated. Preventing burnout does not mean lowering standards, but rather making results sustainable through clear objectives, meaningful work, thoughtful planning, and limiting the “tyranny of urgency.” The third key lever is psychological safety. Inclusive environments, where people can express opinions or difficulties without fear, protect against stress and multiply innovation. Feeling recognized and supported becomes part of the organizational infrastructure itself.

The intersection between welfare and social context must also be considered. In Italy, caregiving responsibilities still disproportionately affect women. Therefore, measuring not only policies but also their actual usage helps reveal asymmetries and overcome stereotypes, transforming evaluation into a tool for organizational fairness and more targeted interventions.

From declared values to everyday practice
Consistency is the common thread connecting workloads, flexibility, spaces, disconnection, psychological and physical support, welfare equity, leadership, and metrics. There can be no true wellbeing if policies say one thing while everyday behaviors communicate another. A promise becomes credible only when it becomes practice.

Within this trajectory, AstraZeneca Italy interprets wellbeing as an organizational responsibility and as an enabling condition for its mission within life sciences — a field where innovating for patients requires organizations capable of preserving people’s energy over time.

This is equally a matter of ethics and performance, because the quality of thought reflects the quality of the environments that generate it. So what remains, beyond the words? A simple yet demanding idea: wellbeing cannot be delegated. It must be designed, led, measured, and continuously refined. It requires balancing differences and equity, ambition and sustainability, autonomy and responsibility. And it is precisely in the maturity with which a company addresses these tensions that its ability to generate lasting value for people, for the system, and for society can truly be measured.

As Maria Angela Lentini, Human Resources Director, explains: “Health prevention and employee wellbeing do not depend on extraordinary solutions, but on conscious leadership capable of understanding people’s needs, managing workloads responsibly, and building work environments where care is not an exception, but a shared practice.”