Work-Life Benefits

While raising their families and pursuing other interests. Employees can choose among numerous flexible work options, including flexible start/stop times; job sharing; telecommuting; compressed workweek; reduced workweek; shift trade; head count share; and informal flextime. Some 86 percent of our United States workers have access to flexible time schedules, and 87 percent have the tools to telecommute.

We refocused our work-life benefits efforts to better align with our business need to attract talent and retain organizational knowledge. We continue to develop programs to support employees across their life cycle. Our approach covers mature workers, workplace flexibility, and dependent care (child through elder care), and is rooted in three leading global demographic trends: the aging of the workforce and the retirement of the Baby Boomers; the increasingly critical role of women in the workforce; and changing attitudes toward work by younger generations who have defined success as a position that allows them to better balance work and family responsibilities.

Productive Retirement

We are especially mindful of the complex and changing definition of retirement today and of the first wave of Baby Boomers who are retiring in record numbers. In 2008, we launched "Freedom to Work: Retirement… on your terms." This program offers employees considering retirement the option to scale back their hours and/or change their responsibilities without affecting their benefits, allowing for knowledge transfer.

“Freedom to Work” offers an employee two different options:

Custom Schedule Program, which allows employees to reduce hours and pay/bonus without impacting benefits. This option allows employees to work four days a week all year or take up to an additional five weeks of vacation.
Emeritus Program, which allows employees to change their responsibility (e.g., from managing staff to an individual contributor) without reducing their pay or grade.

Child Care

Abbott's comprehensive approach to child care helps our employees better manage their personal and professional lives. Our programs provide a variety of alternatives, including an on-site child care center, emergency child care assistance, on-site parenting and counseling services, full-day kindergarten programs and school holiday child care programs.

Our Early Discoveries on-site day care at our headquarters location in Lake County, Illinois, is one of the five largest centers in the country, and serves more than 680 children, from 470 families, each month.
Our Family Child Care Provider Training Program has trained almost 2,300 providers since 2001.
Abbott's Summer Camp Fair helped bring together more than 30 summer camps and over 650 employees interested in camps for their children.
Our Child Care Discounts are offered at over 2,600 centers across the U.S.
Summer Uproar, a community service program for tweens (6th through 9th grades), attracted 202 volunteers who contributed a total of 12,120 hours of service.

Abbott has received national recognition for our child care programs from Working Mother magazine and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

2007–2008 Benefits Updates

Data is for U.S. employees.

Benefits Enhancements

100-percent coverage for Abbott prescription medications and diabetic meters, strips and supplies.
Health care flexible spending account debit cards.
Cover all industry-recommended preventive care and screenings at 100 percent.
Wellness initiatives: New LiveLifeWell health assessment and health coaching program; on-site health screenings, healthy eating and exercise programs.
Infertility Centers of Excellence Program and Neonatal Resource Services to help improve outcomes for employees and their families and provide additional assistance to families with critically ill newborns.
Care management programs with specially trained nurses who help manage care for chronic and catastrophic medical conditions, including cardiac disease, diabetes, cancer, asthma and lower back conditions.
Expanded health care eligibility to include dependent children to age 25, regardless of student status.

Flexible Work Options

Nearly 100 percent of employees have access to flextime.
9 percent of full-time, nonexempt/hourly and 100 percent of all other employees have the tools to telecommute.
5 percent use compressed work weeks.
3 percent chose part-time work.
1 percent chose job sharing.

Lactation Support Program

Abbott's Mothers at Work program helps our employees manage their breastfeeding schedule while at work. The program offers 24-hour access to board-certified lactation consultants who can:

Guide moms through positioning, feeding patterns and weaning;
Locate a lactation room offered at many Abbott sites;
Refer moms to local lactation consultants for in-person assistance; and
Provide ongoing support and answers to questions.

A breastfeeding kit that includes:

An interactive, step-by-step CD and book; and
Sample products and accessories designed for after the baby is born.

An interactive Web site with:

Educational guides;
On-demand seminars;
Informational articles on parenting and child care, among other topics; and
Ability to order breast pumps at a discounted rate.