WorkLife Awards

Company culture has never been more important for organizations looking to attract and retain the best talent. But for employers, culture is about more than just Bagel Fridays and communal espresso machines. The strongest cultures are built on values that run deep throughout the organization.

Formerly presented by Digiday, Glossy and Modern Retail Awards, the WorkLife Awards are now a part of Digiday Media’s newest brand and recognize the top employers and the values that make them unique.  

To access everything you’ll need to join the ranks of our past winners including our entry kit, expert tips on crafting a winning entry and past coverage of this program, click here.

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Key Dates

  • Early Deadline: Jul 28, 2023
    $499 per entry
  • Regular Deadline: Sep 08, 2023
    $599 per entry
  • Last Chance Deadline: Oct 20, 2023
    $729 per entry

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CATEGORIES

  • Best Hybrid Work Environment

    Awarding the employer who has best maintained their company culture in a hybrid work environment.

  • Top Recruiter

    Awarding an outstanding recruiter, either in-house or independent, who has displayed fair and effective practices to attract top talent.

  • HR Team of the Year

    Awarding the HR team who has worked together to create a strong company culture and work environment.

    Last Winner:
    Whalar
  • Best Mental Wellness Program

    Awarding the employer who has shown the strongest commitment to the mental well-being of their employees.

  • Best Physical Wellness Program

    Awarding the employer who has shown the strongest commitment to the physical well-being of their employees.

  • Best Mentorship Program

    Awarding the best program, either organized by an employer or independent entity, that fosters strong interpersonal connections between mentors and mentees in an innovative way.

  • Best Rewards & Recognition Program

    Awarding the program that encourages a culture of recognition in an organization in the form of public/private praise and rewards/incentives.

    Last Winner:
    Critical Mass
  • Most Valued Employees

    Awarding the employer who has shown the strongest commitment and dedication to employee appreciation.

    Last Winner:
    Movers+Shakers
  • Best Virtual Work Environment

    Awarding the employer who has best maintained their company culture as a fully remote environment.

    Last Winner:
    Just Drive Media
  • Best Coworking Culture

    Awarding the best coworking environment, either physical or virtual, whose culture has been curated to serve a diverse community of remote and/or flexible workers.

    Last Winner:
    Petalfast
  • Employer of the Year

    Awarding the employer that has excelled at creating a strong company culture and work environment.

  • Best Manager

    Awarding an outstanding people manager who has best mentored, supported and grown their team members.

  • HR Leader of the Year

    Awarding the HR executive who has excelled at leading a team towards creating a strong company culture and work environment.

  • Best Onboarding Process

    Awarding the employer with the most effective onboarding process in order to successfully and seamlessly integrate new hires into the company.

    Last Winner:
    PROPELLER
  • Most Committed to Social Good

    Awarding the employer who has shown the greatest level of support to social causes through staff empowerment, extracurricular programs, and community partnerships.

    Last Winner:
    monday.com
  • Most Committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Awarding the employer who has shown the strongest commitment and dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion.

  • Most Dedicated to Employee Growth

    Awarding the employer who has shown the strongest commitment to the professional growth of individuals through training, education and enrichment.

    Last Winner:
    Movers+Shakers
  • Best Workplace for Young Careers

    Awarding the employer who has shown the strongest commitment to entry-level employees in terms of professional growth and career advancement.

    Last Winner:
    mSix&Partners
  • Best Employer for Parents

    Awarding the employer who has proven to be the most accommodating and flexible for working parents.

    Last Winner:
    Pinterest
  • Best Employer for Remote Employees

    Awarding the employer with a partial or full remote workforce who best keeps employees connected, engaged and supported.

  • Most Committed to Work/Life Balance

    Awarding the employer who best demonstrates a respect for a healthy work-life balance.

    Last Winner:
    BambooHR
  • Most Passionate Employees

    Awarding the employer whose employees clearly demonstrate a unified passion for the company’s mission and values.

    Last Winner:
    ezCater
  • Most Collaborative Culture

    Awarding the employer whose culture best facilitates cooperation and joint efforts among teams to achieve a common goal.

    Last Winner:
    Rokt
  • Most Innovative Culture

    Awarding the employers whose culture best fosters unique, original and successful thinking demonstrated by tangible results.

Judges

  • Izzy Blach
    Chief Happiness Officer
    Good Apple
  • Jeff Howle
    SVP, Director of Culture and Integration
    EP+Co
  • Philomena Gray
    Global Chief People Officer
    Imagination
  • Elaine Grell
    Chief People Officer EMEA
    Ogilvy
  • Kristen Clark
    Chief Talent Officer
    TBWA\Media Arts Lab
  • Sara Anhorn
    Chief Talent Officer
    Critical Mass
  • Rachel Shapiro
    Director of Talent Acquisition & Development
    Kinship
  • Rachael Greer
    Work & Co
    Managing Director, Operations
  • Arielle Carter
    Razorfish
    VP, Content & Consumer Experience
  • Niamh Graham
    Workhuman
    VP, Global HR
  • Callia Hargrove
    Backstory Consulting
    Founder and Lead Strategist
  • Samantha Citro Alexander
    Bitewell
    Co-Founder & COO
  • Rachell Morris
    TED Conferences
    Head of Human Resources
  • Chris Clermont
    Vox Media, LLC.
    VP, Head of DEI+
  • Brandon Chreene
    Future PLC
    Group SVP, People
  • Joy McCammon
    Rain the Growth Agency
    Senior Vice President, Talent Management
  • Laura Small
    RPA
    Senior Vice President, People Director
  • Maria Martinez
    Situation Group
    Managing Partner
  • Heidi Grothaus
    The New York Times
    Director, HRBP, Newsroom
  • Dannie Lynn Fountain
    Google
    Senior SWE Sourcer
  • Ci Ci Holloway
    Intersection
    Chief People and Diversity Officer
  • Kate Lister
    Global Workplace Analytics
    President
  • Emily Brockett
    Hearst
    Senior Manager, Health & Welfare

Past Winners

  • Vox Media
  • Direct Agents
  • Goodway Group
  • Sephora
  • Iterable
  • Buzzer
  • La Force
  • Tapad
  • Audible
  • Next PR
  • Canopy Management
  • Delta Dental
  • Compas
  • CMI Media Group
  • Havas Media Group

Judging Criteria

Judges will be looking for companies or campaigns that can clearly demonstrate success over the past 12 months. Judges are seeking companies or campaigns that have seized challenges and created opportunities and will evaluate entries based on the following criteria: Innovation, Creativity, Consumer Value, Results and Overall.

Judges will require evidence to substantiate all entries. This can include details of financial performance, specific KPIs, creative evidence in the form of a sizzle reel, campaign images, or links to the final project or related sites. The judges will also consider the structure, presentation and clarity of each entry.

Judging Process

Judges will score each entry prompt and consider any supporting materials submitted. After each judge submits their score for the above criteria, the scores of each criteria will then be averaged and then combined to determine overall score for each entry. The highest scoring entries will appear on the shortlist and winner lists.

Confidentiality

All material will remain confidential to the judges. Only the ‘Credits’ section of an entry will be made public via the shortlist/winners announcement. If you win a particular category, our team may summarize the entry for shortlist/winner announcements and winners guides.

Contact

For more information, contact our awards team at awards@worklife.news.
For sponsorship opportunities, contact our sales team.
Interested in being a judge? Fill out the form here.