At Daiichi Sankyo Australia, 90% of our employees are in domestic partnerships, and over 85% have parenting or caregiving responsibilities. Additionally, 65% of our team were born overseas, meaning many do not have family close by to support them with parenting or caring duties. For these reasons, it is crucial that we empower and support our people to thrive both at work and at home.
We recognise that families come in all shapes and sizes, and that parenting or caring is often like holding down a second job. We want to acknowledge and celebrate all parents and carers for the vital work they do. Our commitment is reflected in the inclusive practices and initiatives we have implemented to support them in balancing their professional and personal lives. We recognise that supporting our parents and carers is a business imperative that directly impacts the success of our business and the achievement of our strategic objectives.
Two of our most impactful initiatives are our ‘Flexibility from Day 1’ approach and progressive paid Life Stage Leave.
‘Flexibility from Day 1’ means that any employee can start and finish their workday at times that suit them, aligned with business needs. We trust our team to manage their work when and where it works best for them. Rather than fixed office days, our office-based employees are expected to be in the office around 3 days a week, with flexibility depending on individual needs, work schedules (including global and regional calls) and business travel. For example, employees with school-aged children often work in the office during school hours and continue working from home after school pick-up.
We understand that modern life is fast-paced and demanding – parents often juggle attending meetings, hitting work deadlines, driving children to sports and extracurricular classes, preparing healthy meals, and managing household chores like loading the laundry. It’s not easy, that’s why we offer autonomy and freedom for team members to build flexible schedules that suit their individual needs and wellbeing and help support them to do their best work. To further promote wellbeing, we have recently introduced ‘Focus Fridays’ with meeting-free afternoons. This is a global Daiichi Sankyo initiative which we have tailored to suit local needs.
Furthermore, our progressive Life Stage Leave benefit enables employees to take additional paid leave when needed – up to 10 days within the first three years of service and up to 15 days thereafter. This generous additional paid leave is able to be used in almost any scenario where a team member may need additional paid leave depending on the stage of life they are at. The possibilities and scenarios are too vast to list them all here and there is no qualifying period.
We also offer progressive, gender-neutral, 16-week paid parental leave, also without a qualifying period, and a 4-week pregnancy loss leave to support families through their grief and healing. Some employees also utilise compressed work weeks to better manage family responsibilities. On several occasions, employees have requested to work remotely from overseas to attend urgent family matters or to be present for a particularly critical time for their family. Supporting this has allowed them to stay connected, focused, and supported during the moments that matter.
In 2025, we launched our annual Inclusion & Diversity Survey to gather employee feedback on wellbeing and inclusion initiatives, including flexibility and the additional paid leave benefits. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Here are just a few representative comments from our team, received when we asked our team members what they appreciate the most:
“I think it is wonderful to offer all the flexibility options so that staff can bring their best selves to work as well as having time for family.”
“The support sentiment with action – Life stage leave, encouragement of managers to get outside/focus on family/focus on wellbeing etc.”
“Through flexible working arrangements, leave options and safe feedback channels I feel that DSAU is very supportive of every individual’s wellbeing and health needs.”
“I appreciate how much effort has been put into making DSAU the most supportive workplace it can be – and so far, I think goals are being kicked.”
“The Leadership Team walks the walk and talks the talk. We have so many flexibility options. I love that all people are treated here as adults and trusted to do their job in the best way possible.”
Being a family-inclusive workplace has fostered a highly engaged and tightly bonded team built on trust, collaboration and care. This culture helps us achieve our goals while ensuring that the work we do is meaningful – not just a source of income but a place to connect, innovate, and create with purpose. Ultimately, given the industry we work within, it also helps us to best serve the patients that rely on our medicines.
Daiichi Sankyo’s slogan is: ‘Passion for Innovation. Compassion for Patients.’ We are only able to innovate when the wellbeing of our people is prioritised. By supporting our employees’ needs, we cultivate a people-centric mindset at all levels, which translates into compassion for the patients we serve.
Tristan Armstrong was the first at Daiichi Sankyo Australia to take up the company’s 16-week gender-neutral paid parental leave, designed to support families during a child’s early years. Welcoming his second son, Tristan faced the challenges of supporting his growing family, with limited daycare access and a strong desire to share caregiving equally with his wife.
DSAU’s progressive and flexible parental leave policy allowed Tristan to tailor his leave to his family’s needs. Initially, he took two weeks’ leave immediately after the birth to help his newborn and two-year-old brother settle. Later, when his son was five to eight months old, Tristan became the primary caregiver, meaning his wife Natalie could return to work with confidence.
“The flexibility of the policy was everything,” Tristan said. “It allowed me to be there when my family needed me most, without feeling like I was stepping away from my career.”
Staggering his leave allowed him to maintain professional engagement while fully supporting his family.
This experience deepened Tristan’s emotional bond with both sons and helped normalise taking parental leave for men in the organisation. He hopes his story encourages more fathers to embrace caregiving as a vital part of their lives and careers.
“I want more men to know that it’s not only okay to take this time, it’s powerful,” Tristan said. “Fatherhood isn’t a side note to your career. It’s a chapter that deserves to be written with intention, love, and presence.”
He added, “I’m proud to be the first at Daiichi Sankyo Australia to take this step, and I hope my story encourages others to follow. These moments with our children – they’re fleeting, but they shape everything.”
“At Daiichi Sankyo Australia, supporting employees to balance work and family life is deeply embedded in the culture. As a parent of three children aged 8, 17 and 19, this support has been invaluable, especially this year with my 17-year-old son completing Year 12.
One of the most significant ways DSAU has helped is through offering compressed work days, which I have utilised this year. This arrangement allows me to work my full-time hours over 4 days rather than 5, giving me a regular day off each week. This extra day has been crucial for supporting my son’s study commitments, attending school events, and being available when he needs extra emotional and physical support during such a critical academic year.
Additionally, it means I can be present for my 8-year-old daughter’s school events and pickups, which would otherwise be difficult to attend in a traditional workweek.
This flexible working arrangement not only strengthens my connection with my family but also positively impacts my productivity and wellbeing at work. It’s a clear demonstration of DSAU’s commitment to recognising employees as whole people – parents and professionals alike.
What I value most is the genuine trust and support from my leadership to manage my time effectively around family needs. This culture of empathy makes a significant difference to my daily life, allowing me to be fully engaged both at home and at work.’
“Daiichi Sankyo Australia is by far the most family-friendly workplace I have experienced. As a parent of a young child, the flexibility here has made a huge difference. I’m not expected to be in the office by 9 am every day – my mornings can be unpredictable. I can take time off as needed or leave the office early without guilt, and catch up on work later in the evening.
Since joining DSAU 18 months ago, my quality of life and wellbeing have improved dramatically. Unlike previous jobs where rigid start times were enforced, here I’m trusted to deliver results when and where suits me best.
I will be forever grateful to my manager, Natalie Down. Shortly after I joined DSAU (initially as a contractor), my father suddenly became gravely ill overseas. Natalie supported me fully, encouraging me to take as much time as I needed to be with my family during that difficult period.
This level of trust and understanding motivates me to give my best at work. I’m surrounded by colleagues who are highly professional but also respect the importance of family and wellbeing. Daiichi Sankyo’s culture truly prioritises work-life balance, which makes all the difference for parents like me.”
“While flexible working arrangements from day one are embraced and utilised by all members of my team, I’m pleased to say that the majority of my team members have also accessed other DSAU benefits to support their parental and caring journeys. As a Senior Leader, it’s truly rewarding to support them - whether through company-paid parental leave, remote and flexible work, or compressed weeks. I firmly believe that fully trusting our team members and offering opportunities for time off or flexible arrangements when they need it, fosters a two-way relationship, where every investment in employee wellbeing strengthens both our business and our team. I hope more employers adopt this mindset to build a sustainable future for parents and carers and to support a thriving economy. For me personally, there’s nothing more fulfilling than leading a strong team of professionals who genuinely love working here, appreciate that they can be themselves, and feel supported to pursue their interests outside of work, as well as when life throws challenges their way.”
