Reimagining the future of work
As we evolve our work models and upskill our people, we’re drawing on wider societal changes.
We’re breaking the employment mould to create new working methods that suit our business and people.
Traditional employer-employee dynamics are no longer fit for either individuals or businesses. People are increasingly looking for more personally and professionally satisfying work. They want to move beyond the traditional 40-hour/40-week/40-year employment contract to something more flexible that’s tailored to their needs and stage of life.
Older and more experienced workers are increasingly choosing to work for longer, and younger people are after meaningful jobs with more flexibility. And Covid-19 forced us all to think differently about how and where we worked.
So we’re pioneering new ways of working to create a flexible environment that values openness and adaptability, builds resilience, and elevates skills and performance. It’s one of our Compass goals.
Our new employment models
Our new ways of working are, ultimately, all about helping people access work and stay employed while ensuring we have the resources we need as a business. They promote chances to learn and work differently – so that people can enjoy a rewarding working life, both now and in the future.
U-Work
U-Work gives employees the freedom and flexibility associated with contract roles with the security and benefits typically linked to regular employment.
People in U-Work don’t have a fixed role. They work on varying assignments and, between projects, are free to do other things that are important to them. They get a monthly retainer and a specially designed suite of benefits whether they’re working on an assignment or not. Assignments can have varying work patterns – anything from a few days a week for a few months to short, concentrated bursts of full-time with breaks in between. And they get paid for each assignment when they’re working.
This more flexible way of working brings many benefits. It helps people who want to reduce their working hours as they get older. It allows working parents to manage their time more effectively. And it will enable people to travel, study or work for other businesses while maintaining a meaningful connection with Unilever.
U-Work benefits HUL too. Managers have access to skilled people familiar with HUL and can hit the ground running, avoiding the hidden costs of finding freelance workers and getting them up to speed.
Hybrid working arrangements
Even though Covid-19 fast-forwarded the shift to more flexible and remote working, at HUL, we were already examining how to move to more balanced working methods. We’ve learned from the pandemic-induced changes in how we work to shape new and better arrangements for our people.
When done right, hybrid working creates an inclusive, flexible environment where people can perform at their best and teams can collaborate, connect, create and celebrate successes. In 2021, we introduced a set of global principles to guide how to make the best use of our office spaces while giving our people flexibility and choice, including spending at least 40% of our time in the office to collaborate and connect.
We see a future where we focus primarily on what people produce rather than where or when they work. So, we’re designing working options, including remote working from home, that will help people balance work and home life without completely losing the value that face-to-face contact brings.
OPEN2U
Our careers page features OPEN2U – a program which offers part-time Gig work, the HUL way with the flexibility to define the work schedule on an applicant’s terms, the security of structured compensation & benefits, as well as the opportunity to work on high-impact projects for India’s biggest brands and businesses.