100 Best Companies
Saturday, October 1 2005
They're winners all-the Working Mother 100 Best Companies-and you'll find out why in the individual write-ups that follow. Each company had to be awesome when it came to flexible scheduling, child-care options and time off for new parents, since those were the three areas we especially emphasized in our application this year. And as our fast facts and mini drawings show, our winners shine at helping us stay true to our jobs, our families and ourselves. They bring out the best. They are the best.
IMAGE PHOTOGRAPH 1Some 330 men took paid leave to care for their new babies in the first year of Abbott's new paternity leave policy.
ABBOTT * Abbott Park, IL
Pharmaceutical, health-care and nutritional products company
At Abbott, the pipeline for balancing the personal and professional lives of its roughly 30,000 employees is just as vital as the pipeline for discovering innovative drug therapies and health-care products. The company expanded its parental leave policy in 2004: Fathers get two weeks of paid leave, and adoption leave for primary caregivers may now be taken either before or after the adoption (for travel or to complete the process). The company provides flexible work arrangements, and a 24/7 telephone and online support program is available for employees who need help resolving serious work/life conflicts.