South African businesses of all sizes only have a few days left to enter the 2025 Sunday Times Best Places to Work South Africa Awards, with applications closing at midnight on 17 October 2025.
The awards, hosted by the Sunday Times in partnership with global workplace analytics company WorkL, celebrate companies that excel in creating positive, engaging, and inclusive work environments, based entirely on employee feedback. Participating organisations will be evaluated through a 35-question survey that measures six key drivers of workplace happiness: reward & recognition, information sharing, empowerment, pride, job satisfaction, and well-being.
“South African businesses have a unique opportunity to showcase their commitment to employee well-being and organisational culture,” says Lyndon Barends, managing director of strategic partnerships at Arena Holdings, publisher of the Sunday Times. “These awards are more than a badge of honour - they’re a powerful tool for internal reflection and external employer branding. We’re proud to partner with WorkL to bring global benchmarking and meaningful insights to local businesses.”
The Sunday Times Best Places to Work South Africa Awards offer participating companies:
- Benchmarking by size: Small (10–49 employees), medium (50–249), big (250–1,999), and very big (2,000+).
- Recognition in special categories: Including best workplaces for women, LGBTQA+ employees, and specific age groups.
- Actionable insights: Organisations receive detailed feedback to help improve employee engagement and workplace culture.
- Brand visibility: Winners are profiled in the Sunday Times and across Arena Holdings’ media platforms.
Recent winners include Entelect, McDonald’s South Africa, DHL Express, Mint Group, and KLA, who have all been recognised for their outstanding workplace environments and employee satisfaction.
The following categories will be awarded at a breakfast event taking place in Johannesburg on 26 November 2025:
- Best Places to Work for Women
- Best Places to Work for Disabled Employees
- Best Places to Work for Ethnic Minority Employees
- Best Places to Work for LGBTQA+ Employees
- Best Places to Work for 16-34 year olds
- Best Places to Work for 55+ year olds
- Best Places to Work for Employee Well-being
WorkL, which was launched in the UK in 2017, already holds data on the state of work-life in over 2,000 organisations in South Africa. Results of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work South Africa survey are analysed by WorkL, which uses its proprietary methodology to assess consistency across all six workplace drivers. Organisations must perform well across the board, and not just in isolated areas, in order to be considered for recognition.
South African organisations can enter the 2025 Sunday Times Best Places to Work Awards by visiting:
https://workl.com/business/workplace-awards/sunday-times-za/
