Thanks to Swiss Re’s flexible working principle, Own The Way You Work™ (OTWYW), our business and employees were able to quickly adapt to this new environment. Swiss Re employees are empowered to choose how and where they work, giving everyone – regardless of their circumstances – the chance to shine.
As remote working became the new normal everywhere, in 2021 Swiss Re updated its long-term OTWYW principles based on employee feedback and lessons learned during the COVID-19 crisis. The company aims to empower all individual staff and teams and encourage them to connect and communicate openly with each other, wherever they are located. We strive for a hybrid approach and ask employees to reflect on what makes sense in each situation. For instance, working from home can be preferable for certain focused activities and can save time and CO₂ emissions from travel. Meeting face to face, however, can help to create a more personal connection with clients or colleagues.
Swiss Re’s state-of-the-art offices – from the eye-catching old-meets-new style of the Zurich headquarters to the iconic London-based Gherkin – form part of the company’s creative and collaborative culture. To that end, in September 2021, Swiss Re launched the Living Lab workplace pilot in its Adliswil office in Switzerland. The new inspiring workspaces are designed to boost innovation and enhance teamwork and knowledge exchange. The concept will later be rolled out to other locations such as the new Swiss Re office in Singapore and the Lake building in Zurich.
