Work/Life

Baxter believes that managers and employees share the responsibility to achieve a healthy blend of work, personal and family life.

Baxter's global operations collaborate with external organizations, as appropriate, to develop and facilitate work/life programs. While some of the programs and resources listed below are available globally, all are available in the United States:

• Adoption assistance and reimbursement;
• Back-up/emergency child and elder care;
• Dependent-care flexible spending accounts;
• Educational assistance;
• Employee assistance and counseling programs;
• Elder-care management services;
• Lactation rooms;
• Resource and community referrals to local service providers for family, financial and work issues;
• Childcare support options;
• Webinars on topics such as stress management and parenting (in English but offered worldwide); and
• Alternate work arrangements.

More than 25 percent of eligible employees (regular employees working at least 20 hours a week) used one or more of these programs in 2011. Baxter estimates conservatively that it realizes more than $1.60 of benefit for every dollar invested in work/life programs through reduced absenteeism and enhanced productivity. This estimate is based on employee surveys and program utilization data to compare the value of estimated employee time saved to the total cost of the program.

Alternate Work Arrangements

Alternate work arrangements help to meet employees' needs for flexibility while continuing to achieve Baxter’s business goals. The company’s Alternate Work Arrangement Proposal Kit assists employees and managers in reviewing the steps required for proposing and reviewing requests for flexibility within the scope of an existing position.

Determining the most appropriate alternate work arrangement typically takes the following into consideration:

• The requirements of the job;
• The employee's personal needs;
• The needs and goals of the business overall; and
• The employee's satisfactory work performance.

Employee Perspective