Bristol-Myers Squibb Expands Paid Leave Duration For Its Care-giving Employees


04/16/2018

Flexibility on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s part allows the company to bond better with its employees and motivate them to bring in output improvement.


Dailycsr.com – 16 April 2018 – The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s employees are passionately involved in pushing scientific frontiers to cater to “patients with serious diseases”. Helping in the employees’ endeavour the company is now giving its employees in the U.S. “expanded paid time off” so that they indulge in care-giving for “ill family members and the care of newborn, foster or adoptive children”.
 
In fact, this year the company has launched “family-friendly benefits” keeping in line with its commitments of promoting “diverse workforce through an innovative, market-leading approach”. In the words of the chief human resources officer, Ann Powell Judge:
“We realize that our employees can work best when they feel their responsibilities at home and at work are being supported. The benefits we’ve added provide additional flexibility when their families need them the most. At Bristol-Myers Squibb, we are committed to ensuring that we develop, empower and reward our employees so they can deliver on our mission of bringing innovative medicines to patients.”
 
Broadening the definition of family, the Bristol-Myers Squibb expands the scope of its “inclusive new family care leave program” whereby including various forms of care-giving to “family members of all ages”.
 
Employees in the U.S., who are eligible as “caregiver” since they might be taking care of an “ill family members” or may have become “new parents of birth, foster, or adoptive children”, are allowed to take “eight weeks of paid leave”. In fact, all the hourly workers who meet the “eligibility requirements” can also benefit from the programme.
 
Ryan and Heather Fischer are two such employees at Bristol-Myers Squibb, who benefitted from the said inclusive programme immensely, as they are the “parents of two-year-old Adelaide”. On the 24th of January 2018, the parents also welcomed their second child, daughter Colette. As mentioned in the programme both the parents are eligible for “eight weeks of paid family care leave each”.
 
Ryan is a “digital capacity manager” of “Global Regulatory and Safety Systems at Bristol-Myers Squibb”. In his words:
“When the company announced the new program last fall, I was ecstatic. When Heather goes back to work in April, after using her paid short-term disability time off as well as parental leave benefits, I’ll take another couple of weeks so I have more bonding time with my new daughter.”
 
The programme introduces flexibility as a “key feature”, whereby the eligible employees can either break up their “paid family care leave” as per their convenience or enjoy it “all at once” as per their respective requirements. Thanks to this programme, Bristol-Myers Squibb aims to retain talents, motivate employee into improving “productivity and health”.
 
In Judge’s words:
“Our expanded family care leave program is consistent with the value we place on our people as our key competitive advantage”.
 
 
References:
3blmedia.com