Written by:
Future Group
3 April 2026
We’ve prioritised building a workplace that works for real people with real lives and supports them in doing meaningful work.
This year, that approach has been recognised by the Australian Financial Review’s Best Places to Work Awards, where Future Group won across two categories.
We won gold in Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services and we were recognised as best overall in the Medium Sized Business category.
We’re proud of this award because it reflects the work we’ve done to put our people first.
It also reflects how our people feel, which we measure through engagement scores. Our anonymous survey had 85% employee participation, finding that 97% of employees would recommend Future Group as a place to work, and 97% believe we prioritise wellbeing.
A lot of conversations about “flexibility” still start from the same place: how work can be adjusted without losing productivity.
We think about it differently.
Life is already full: caring responsibilities, health, relationships, unexpected events. Work needs to fit into that reality, not compete with it.
That’s why we’re remote-first, and why flexibility isn’t just about where you work, but when and how. People structure their weeks and where they work in ways that suit them.
The goal isn’t to tie people to their desks for long hours. It’s to make space for people to do their best work. And to treat people with the trust and respect they deserve.
One of the simplest things we’ve introduced is also one of the most important: self-care days. All our full time employees are entitled to 6 self-care days a year, they can be taken as half days or full days.
It’s not there for when things have already gone wrong. It’s there to help prevent that from happening in the first place.
Sometimes it’s used for rest. Sometimes for life admin. Sometimes for nothing in particular.
What matters is that people don’t need to justify it. Taking care of yourself is seen as part of doing your job well, not stepping away from it.
Workplaces often talk about employees as individuals. But no one exists in isolation.
The things that affect how we show up at work are often happening elsewhere with family, health, identity, or community.
So our approach has been to extend support beyond the narrow boundaries of “work”.
That includes practical things like access to healthcare for employees and their families, or support navigating major life moments. It's also about recognising that workplaces should cater to diverse needs and experiences rather than taking a one size fits all approach. That’s reflected in policies like cultural leave, menstrual and menopause leave, gender affirmation leave, and the ability to swap public holidays for ones that matter personally.
Future Group exists to build a future worth retiring into. For that to mean anything internally, people need to see how their work connects to that outcome.
We spend time making that connection visible by sharing progress, talking about impact, and creating space for people to understand how their role contributes to something bigger.
That clarity matters. Especially in complex or technical roles, where the impact isn’t always obvious day to day.
Recognition is a moment, the work continues
Being recognised by the AFR is meaningful, particularly because it reflects the workplace culture we’ve deliberately worked to build.
But it’s not an endpoint. Workplaces are always evolving and are shaped by the people in them, the world around them, and the challenges they’re navigating.
We’ll keep experimenting. Keep sharing what we learn. And keep building something that works not just in theory, but in practice.
We made our workplace policies open source because we want to see more organisations put people, diversity, inclusion and belonging first. Find the full list of our open-source policies here.
