WorkandLife is a Spain-based company that helps employers support working families through corporate nursery schools, early childhood education, and other childcare services. Operating as Grupo WorkandLife, it develops and manages childcare facilities for businesses, public institutions, and hospitals. Its main aim is to make work-life balance more practical by bringing reliable childcare closer to where parents work. Rather than being a general productivity app or a motivational concept, WorkandLife is an organization offering real services to employers and their employees.
For parents, it can simplify daily journeys; for employers, it addresses a problem flexible hours cannot always solve. I ask one question: does the arrangement genuinely help families without compromising children’s care?
What Is WorkandLife, and How Did It Begin?
According to its official company history, WorkandLife began in 2000 with an idea shaped by the founders’ own circumstances. Mª Pilar Casado and Claudia Caso were familiar with demanding professional work and began thinking seriously about childcare while expecting their children.
Their proposed solution was straightforward: create nursery schools at or near workplaces so parents would not have to treat childcare and employment as entirely separate logistical challenges. Victoriano Casajús later joined the project, helping establish the business that became Grupo WorkandLife.
The company built its approach around two related goals. One is helping working parents reconcile professional responsibilities with family needs. The other is improving the quality and recognition of early childhood education, especially for children from birth to age three.
A nursery is more than somewhere to leave children during office hours. Education, staff relationships, meals, safety, and family communication matter as much as location.
Is WorkandLife the Same as Work-Life Balance?
Not exactly. Work-life balance describes the broader relationship between employment, personal time, health, and family responsibilities. WorkandLife is the name of a company offering one set of solutions within that wider field.
Someone looking for better work-life balance may also need changes to workload, scheduling, or boundaries. Employer-supported childcare can help with one major source of pressure, but it cannot fix every workplace problem.
What Services Does WorkandLife Offer?
Its services overview describes nursery development and management, along with support beyond children’s earliest years.
Corporate Nursery Schools for Children Aged 0–3
The core service is early childhood care and education linked to an employer or institution. WorkandLife works on the facility’s design, educational approach, daily management, and regulatory requirements.
A workplace nursery may simplify morning travel and communication when unexpected issues arise.
Convenience counts only when the setting also offers suitable learning, qualified staff, safety, and a welcoming transition. I would examine those fundamentals before considering any commuting benefit.
School-Holiday Care and Children’s Activities
A child’s care needs do not disappear when formal school begins. Holiday periods, school closure days, and mismatched schedules create another challenge for working families.
WorkandLife says it provides camps and school-holiday activities for children aged 3–12. These programs can help fill gaps in the school calendar, although specific availability and arrangements depend on the project.
Its other services include family days, workplace children’s areas, and corporate events.
Consultancy, Planning, and Nursery Management
Opening a workplace nursery is more complicated than assigning an unused room to childcare. An employer needs to evaluate demand, premises, staffing, safety, operating costs, and local regulatory obligations.
WorkandLife offers support from early feasibility assessment through implementation and management. According to its contact guidance, the initial analysis considers employee numbers, work shifts, the location of employees’ homes, and the organization’s circumstances.
A popular idea is not automatically sustainable. A nursery must serve enough families, fit working patterns, and maintain educational quality.
Why Employer-Supported Childcare Matters
Childcare is often discussed as a private family responsibility. In reality, unreliable or unaffordable care can affect attendance, concentration, career decisions, and whether a parent can remain employed at all.
UNICEF’s 2025 family-friendly workplace toolkit encourages employers to consider childcare support alongside flexible schedules, paid leave, and breastfeeding support. This broader approach recognizes that a single benefit rarely solves every family’s needs.
For Parents: Less Friction in the Working Day
Imagine a parent who must first cross town to a nursery, then travel in the opposite direction to work, and repeat both journeys in the evening. Even if the actual working hours are reasonable, the daily routine may be exhausting.
A well-located employer-supported nursery could reduce that logistical strain. It may also make transitions easier when a child is unwell or a caregiver needs to contact a parent quickly. Proximity still cannot replace an illness policy or backup care.
For Children: Care Quality Comes Before Convenience
Young children benefit from warm relationships, predictable routines, play, attentive supervision, and opportunities to explore. A corporate nursery should be judged against these needs, not solely against an employer’s productivity goals.
I would ask whether educators know each child’s routines, how newcomers are supported during their adjustment period, and how the nursery communicates developmental concerns or everyday progress. The answers reveal much more than attractive photographs of a facility.
For Employers: Family Support Can Strengthen Retention
Organizations may gain from reduced scheduling disruption, stronger employee loyalty, and a more attractive benefits package. UNICEF also identifies potential links between family-friendly policies, retention, employee motivation, and workforce participation.
These outcomes are possibilities, not guaranteed results for every company. A childcare facility with inconvenient hours, high fees, or insufficient places may generate little benefit despite a substantial investment.
WorkandLife vs. Traditional Childcare: What Changes?
The most useful comparison is between childcare arrangements, not between one provider and every other nursery. A corporate nursery and a community nursery can both be excellent; the better choice depends on a family’s daily routine and the actual quality of each setting.
| Consideration | Employer-Supported Nursery Model | Independent Community Nursery |
|---|---|---|
| Location | At or near participating workplace, depending on the project | Usually chosen near home or another convenient location |
| Scheduling | May be planned around employees’ work patterns | Depends on the nursery’s own opening hours |
| Access | May depend on employer affiliation and available places | Depends on local admissions and availability |
| Funding | Employer subsidies or shared-cost arrangements may be possible | Fees and any public support vary by provider and location |
| Continuity | A job change could complicate access | Usually less tied to one employer |
| Educational quality | Must be assessed at the specific center | Must also be assessed at the specific center |
I would not assume that workplace childcare is cheaper or better by default. Request actual fees, opening hours, enrollment conditions, staff information, and a visit before comparing options.
How Does a WorkandLife Nursery Project Get Started?
The company’s description of its approach includes design, planning, regulatory compliance, education, and ongoing operations. For an employer considering a partnership, I would organize the decision into three practical stages.
First, Test Whether Employees Need It
An anonymous needs assessment should identify how many employees have young children, when care is needed, and what families currently pay or struggle with. It should also include prospective parents and shift workers, not only people who already use childcare.
Ask about commuting direction, likely enrollment, preferred opening hours, and affordability. Demand must be measured realistically: an employee may support the idea in principle but still prefer a nursery close to home.
Next, Design Around Families and Regulations
A suitable site must satisfy applicable childcare and safety rules. Employers also need clarity about capacity, access, outdoor space, food provision, safeguarding, staffing, and responsibility when something goes wrong.
The details should be written into an agreement: who operates the center, who pays for which services, how places are assigned, how concerns are handled, and what happens if staffing or demand changes.
Finally, Operate and Review the Service
Opening day is not the end of the project. A nursery needs stable staffing, transparent communication, regular family feedback, and ongoing attention to children’s wellbeing.
I would schedule a review after the first few months, then at regular intervals. The goal is not simply to fill places; it is to check whether the service remains useful, accessible, financially sustainable, and educationally sound.
What Should Parents Check Before Enrolling?
Parents may reasonably feel reassured when a nursery is connected to a well-known employer. Even so, the employer’s reputation should never substitute for a proper childcare assessment.
Look Closely at the People and the Daily Routine
Ask about educator qualifications, supervision arrangements, staff turnover, the child-to-adult ratio required by local rules, and how the team supports children who are settling in. Observe whether staff speak warmly to children and respond calmly to their needs.
Check how meals, naps, outdoor time, hygiene, allergies, and emergency communication are handled. A clear answer to an ordinary question is often more meaningful than a polished promotional brochure.
Understand the Practical Terms
Find out the full cost, whether an employer subsidy is guaranteed, what happens during holidays, and whether access continues during parental leave, a job change, or a transfer to another office.
Also examine the actual journey. A nursery beside the workplace is convenient on office days, but it may be inconvenient when a parent works remotely, takes leave, or has a different commute from their partner.
Listen to Your Child’s Experience
For infants and toddlers, adjustment may be communicated through behavior rather than words. Ask how educators report eating, sleeping, play, and emotional changes, and how families can discuss concerns.
No nursery can promise that every morning will be effortless. What matters is whether staff respond thoughtfully and work with parents when difficulties arise.
How Can Employers Measure Whether the Investment Works?
I would resist judging a nursery only by enrollment numbers or enthusiastic launch-day feedback. A useful assessment combines family outcomes, operational performance, and the experience of children.
Here is an editorial framework I call the Care Continuity Check. It is a practical evaluation tool, not a validated scientific scale.
| Area to Review | A Useful Question | Possible Measure |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Can the families who need care actually get a place? | Eligible families served; waiting-list trends |
| Affordability | Is the total cost manageable? | Net monthly fee relative to local alternatives |
| Schedule fit | Does care match real working hours? | Unmet early, late, or holiday-care requests |
| Reliability | Does care remain available when promised? | Unexpected closures and backup-care incidents |
| Child experience | Are children supported and families informed? | Family feedback, safeguarding reviews, staff continuity |
Time released is not always time recovered. A parent might save a commute but use that saved time on more unpaid work or additional meetings. Employers should ask whether employees actually feel less rushed, not merely whether they are physically present for longer.
For a fuller business case, compare implementation and operating costs with relevant changes in employee retention, avoidable absences, satisfaction, and recruitment. Protect privacy by reporting outcomes in aggregate, without using individual families’ childcare difficulties against them.
Limitations and Questions Worth Asking About WorkandLife
WorkandLife presents a focused solution to a genuine need, but employer-supported childcare has practical limits. Some families live far from the office, work in multiple locations, or prefer children to remain near home and extended family.
Other employees may have teenagers, disabled dependents, or older relatives who need care. A nursery cannot address all these responsibilities, and family-friendly policies should not benefit only one group of workers.
Capacity is another concern. Scarce places require fair, transparent enrollment rules.
I would also be careful with promotional performance figures. WorkandLife reports family satisfaction on its website, but a headline percentage without a clearly explained sample and methodology cannot establish what every future family will experience. Ask for current center-specific information and independently verifiable quality indicators.
What If a Company Is Too Small for Its Own Nursery?
A dedicated nursery may be difficult to justify for a small employer or a workforce spread across many locations. That does not mean the organization has no useful childcare options.
An employer could explore partnerships with established neighborhood centers, childcare subsidies, reserved places, shared facilities with nearby businesses, or support for school-holiday programs. Each requires a cost and quality review.
UNICEF’s guidance on family-friendly policies also highlights paid parental leave, flexible arrangements, and breastfeeding support. These measures can complement childcare rather than compete with it.
For shift-based workplaces, I would prioritize matching care arrangements to actual start and finish times. A beautiful nursery that closes before a worker’s shift ends offers little relief.
What Does WorkandLife Suggest About the Future of Work?
The most interesting lesson is that work-life balance is partly a design problem. Organizations set working hours, choose locations, plan shifts, and decide which benefits deserve investment. Families then have to organize daily life around those decisions.
WorkandLife’s model brings everyday family needs into business planning. That shift is useful, provided it supports genuine choice rather than creating an expectation that parents should spend even more hours at work.
I would judge the success of any family-friendly workplace by whether people can do their jobs well and still have enough time, energy, and confidence to care for the people who depend on them.
Final Thoughts
WorkandLife offers a concrete example of how employers can support working parents through nursery management, early education, and complementary childcare programs. Its approach is most compelling when convenience is paired with dependable care, fair access, and transparent costs.
If you are an employer, start by asking employees what childcare problem they actually need solved. If you are a parent, compare local options on quality, affordability, and daily fit. Start with real needs, not a benefit headline.
Frequently Asked Questions About WorkandLife
1. What Is WorkandLife?
WorkandLife is a Spanish company that develops and manages employer-linked nursery schools and offers additional family-support services.
2. Where Is WorkandLife Based?
The company is based in San Sebastián de los Reyes, in the Madrid area of Spain, according to its official website.
3. What Age Groups Does WorkandLife Serve?
Its main nursery services focus on children aged 0–3, while holiday care and activities can serve children aged 3–12.
4. Can Individuals Enroll Directly in WorkandLife Nurseries?
Enrollment depends on the particular center, its available places, and any employer-linked access conditions. Check directly with the center.
5. How Can an Employer Contact WorkandLife?
Employers can request a consultation through WorkandLife’s official contact page to discuss feasibility and available services.
Ethan Caldwell is a business research writer with 9+ years of experience covering entrepreneurship, market trends, business strategies, and industry insights. He focuses on creating clear, data-informed articles that help readers understand modern business concepts.
