DNA named a Parental Leave-Friendly Workplace 2026 – making room for family life at work

“At DNA, we have long been building a working life that makes room for different family situations and stages of life. We believe that when people can take care of their families and their own wellbeing, they are also best placed to feel well and succeed at work. For us, family-friendliness is above all about trust, care and everyday actions that enable a good and sustainable working life,” says Iitu Hietamies, People Operations Lead at DNA.

Flexible parental leave and support for returning to work

At DNA, employees can agree with their manager to take parental leave in more than four periods. This allows leave arrangements to reflect each family’s circumstances while also planning how work will be covered during the leave. Employees and managers have guidelines for planning family leave, and any contact during the leave is agreed in advance based on the employee’s wishes.

The return to work is also planned together. Returning employees are offered induction, and a return-to-work discussion covers matters such as job content and working hours. Employees can return to their previous duties or equivalent roles and agree on part-time work where their duties and role allow, or on partial parental leave.

“What impressed us about DNA’s practices was that employees have a say in both how they take their leave and how they return to work. The return-to-work discussion provides an opportunity to agree on job content and working hours, as well as to discuss where the employee would like to take their career next,” says Salla Rajala, Executive Director of MiB.

Family-friendliness is part of the employer promise

Family-friendliness is one of the key elements of DNA’s employer promise. At DNA, a humane working life that allows people to be themselves means, among other things, making room for different families and life situations and finding ways of working together. The award highlights how this approach is reflected in the everyday experiences of employees going on and returning from family leave.

DNA’s family-friendliness has also received another recognition this year: in May, the Family Federation of Finland renewed DNA’s Family-Friendly Workplace certification for the third time. DNA remains the only large company in Finland to have been awarded the certification. The assessment was based on a survey conducted among all employees in spring 2026, which showed that family-friendly practices have become firmly established in the everyday lives of DNA employees.

MiB presented the Parental Leave-Friendly Workplace award for the third time on 6 November 2026 at the Family-Friendly Working Life seminar at Alma House in Helsinki. The award highlights workplaces that develop their practices and culture to support expectant parents, parents going on family leave and those returning to work.

Further information about the Parental Leave-Friendly Workplace award
Further information about family-friendliness at DNA

Photos from the award ceremony: Family-Friendly Working Life seminar 2026 (the folder is updated in real time)

Further information for the media

Iitu Hietamies, People Operations Lead, DNA Plc, Tel. 044 044 5457, iitu.hietamies@dna.fi
DNA Communications, tel. 044 044 8000, viestinta@dna.fi