Today's professionals are interested not only in intellectually challenging work and the opportunity to contribute to company goals, but also in finding work environments that are flexible to personal life needs and interests.

In short, they desire work-life integration.

With this in mind, Merck has developed work-life integration programs that are innovative and that meet the needs of today's talent and employee pool, while enhancing our reputation as an employer of choice.

Merck takes a comprehensive and holistic view of work-life integration. We have instituted a broad array of programs to appeal to employees at all stages of life. Employees who manage multiple responsibilities in the home and in the workplace, employees who are caregivers to elderly parents, employees with visible or nonapparent disabilities, and employees who have religious obligations—indeed all employees—benefit from the greater work-life integration offered at Merck.

We recognize the following benefits that a holistic work-life effort provides:

• • A work environment that attracts talented applicants
• • Improved employee performance and reduced absenteeism
• • Increased employee engagement
• • Higher employee and customer loyalty
• • Decreases in sick leave
• • An enhanced reputation in the marketplace
• • Lowered staff attrition rates
• • Higher levels of teamwork and collegiality
• • A perception of the organization as genuinely innovative

Global Flexible Work Arrangements

Merck believes flexible work arrangements offer a different and smarter way of working that enhances employees’ commitment to the company, increases productivity and makes employee teams more competitive. The company has had a flexible work arrangements policy and tools for several years in the United States, and globally since 2008.

In developing our global Flexible Work Arrangement Policy, we’ve challenged traditional assumptions about where and how work can and must be done. Flexibility reflects our belief that job effectiveness is determined by employee performance and results, not the number of hours one is seen in the office. What is produced or accomplished is more important than when or where the work is done.

Employees and managers work together to assess the opportunities and challenges of a proposed arrangement. While the overall process should be collaborative, managers are accountable for making the final decision in light of business requirements, recognizing that some positions may not lend themselves to a flexible work arrangement. All regular full- or part-time employees are eligible to apply for a flexible work arrangement, which includes:

• • Part-time Work: Employees' workload and hours are decreased to less than the standard workweek requirements along with commensurate reduction in benefits and compensation.
• • Job Sharing: Two employees on reduced schedules and workload share the overlapping responsibilities of one full-time position; benefits and compensation are reduced accordingly.
• • Flextime: Employees with full-time job responsibilities modify the start time and quit time of a standard day while being present for departmentally established "core hours" (hours of mandatory attendance, such as 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.), if any.
• • Compressed Work Weeks: Employees compress full-time job responsibilities into fewer than five days per week or 10 days per two weeks.
• • Telework: Employees perform full-time job responsibilities up to several days a week at sites other than their primary location—usually their home or a satellite office.
• • Remote Work: Employees perform full-time job responsibilities working primarily as a home-based or mobile employee, with limited presence in a regular company facility.
• • Other options, including hybrid arrangements, seasonal work, project-based approaches, etc., may also make business sense. Employees and managers are encouraged to consider and pilot other alternatives.

Thoughtful Communication with Employees and Managers

To ensure deep- and broad-scale awareness of all Merck programs, the company uses a thoughtful, integrated communications approach to help all employees manage work-life integration. We provide training to managers in helping employees find new ways of working to achieve business goals, while supporting employees' work-life effectiveness, and the use of internal communications, employee networking events, mentoring, and leadership development forums to maintain high levels of employee morale, enthusiasm and productivity.

Merck also has a vibrant website supporting work-life effectiveness, where employees can build awareness and take advantage of the wide variety of programs that Merck offers.

In addition, Merck offers enhancements to existing work-life integration programs to help employees manage work-life issues. They include:

• • Parental Leave: One week of paid parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child.
• • Free Commuter Transportation Service: A free commuter/shuttle service from specific locations near Merck headquarters in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, enabling employees to save on transportation costs and commute time while reducing their carbon footprint.
• • Summer Hours: Providing greater flexibility, Merck offers employees the opportunity to have reduced week hours during the summer. Specifically, eligible employees are able to work nine-hour days Monday through Thursday, and the final four hours on Friday (departing no earlier than noon).

Dependent Care

Dependent-care services at Merck are provided by LifeCare, through which specialists provide subsidized care for children and adults as a backup. Employees are eligible for 15 days’ usage per dependent per year for a nominal out-of-pocket fee. Employees can also take advantage of significant online resources available here.

College Coach—an educational counseling service that offers a comprehensive menu of education topics and helps employees manage their professional and family responsibilities through workshops, expert counseling, and Web-based assistance. The program helps employees and their families reach their academic goals—reducing stress and keeping employees happy and productive both at home and at work.

Special Needs: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Program—for employees and their children as they plan for and navigate school and college options for students with diagnosed ASD and related conditions. Once qualified, employees can receive five hours of personalized counseling and participation in one live webinar.

Website for Exceptional Caregivers—provides online caregiver support and online elder-care support programs on a range of topics and resources relating to children with special needs.

Program for Elder Caregivers—includes free online educational courses that Merck sponsors for employees who have the responsibility of caring for an older relative. The program includes: Empower Online (an eight-week online elder-care support program that offers tools for self-care and self-assessment as a caregiver) and Making Sense of Memory Loss (an online class for those who care for someone in the early, middle or late-to-final stages of memory loss due to Alzheimer's disease or related dementia).

Adoption Assistance—provides reimbursement of up to $10,000 for eligible adoption-related expenses.

Employee Assistance Program—offers access to confidential, professional assessment, referral, counseling and educational services.