Today's highly qualified professionals are interested not only in work that challenges them intellectually and provides an opportunity to contribute to important company goals.

They also are looking for companies that respond flexibly to the different life phases, multifaceted needs, obligations and interests of individual employees. In short, they desire work-life integration.

With this in mind, Merck works to ensure that work-life integration programs are innovative, reflect the needs of today's talent and employee pool, are consistently implemented across the organization, and drive engagement and enhance our reputation as an employer of choice.

Recognition for Excellence in Work-Life Integration

As a result of the company's commitment to excellence in work-life flexibility, Merck was awarded the 2010 Work Life Legacy Award by the Families and Work Institute, a leading workplace and family research organization. The company was recognized for its leadership in driving and expanding work-life efforts at Merck. Merck's Chairman and former President and CEO Dick Clark received the distinguished award on behalf of the company.

"We often hear of the need for employees to be flexible and to be accessible, to ensure their companies succeed. And that is certainly true," Mr. Clark said in his acceptance remarks. "But it is our families who make sacrifices to allow that to happen. Those of us who lead, and select others to lead, need to make certain that our companies also are flexible, and that our organizations—our work families—help and inspire employees to be attentive to their own families."

Merck takes a comprehensive and holistic view toward work-life integration. We focus on 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, or employees who have religious obligations—indeed all employees—benefit from greater work-life integration offered at Merck. Merck recognizes 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 employee 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, Merck is challenging traditional assumptions about where and how work can and must get done. Flexibility reinforces the philosophy that job effectiveness is determined by employee performance and results, not the number of hours one is seen in the office. Merck is results oriented and interested in working in the most efficient fashion. "What" is produced or accomplished is more important than "when" or "where" work is done.

Flexibility at Merck is not viewed as a "benefit" for employees with certain family or personal situations, but rather represents a different and better way of working. Arrangements are designed to address employee needs and to meet business requirements. 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 impacts. Decisions about flexible work arrangements are made in the overall interest of both Merck and the employee, while 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 include:

• 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 a 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 5 days per week or 10 days in two
• 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. Merck provides training to managers to help 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.

Supported by industry benchmark studies and reports, Merck launched a new Web site supporting work-life effectiveness. Employees are responsive to this platform as a way to build awareness and take advantage of the wide variety of programs that Merck offers.

In addition to the new Web site, Merck also enhanced existing work-life integration programs. Many of these programs made it possible for employees to manage work-life issues. They include:

• Parental Leave: Based on feedback from external partners, such as Working Mother magazine, on the changing nature of families and changing role of fathers, Merck implemented one week 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, enabled employees to save on gas transportation costs and commuter time, while reducing their carbon footprint
• Summer Hours: In order to provide 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)

Organizational Support

The Office of Global Diversity and Inclusion oversees the company's work-life integration programs as part of a broader diversity and inclusion strategy. Led by the chief global diversity & inclusion officer and an HR executive director who manages the work-life initiative, this area has grown in significance and impact over the past several years. The goals of the Global Diversity & Inclusion team are to create a work environment in which employees are able to simultaneously achieve their business objectives and maintain work-life effectiveness.

A Comprehensive Program Offering

Dependent Care Solutions—including backup care for children and adults through LifeCare. LifeCare is a premier organization, with adult and child care specialists, that provides subsidized care for children and adults on a backup basis. Employees are eligible for 15 uses per dependent per year at a nominal out-of-pocket fee. Additionally, Merck employees can take advantage of significant online resources available at http://www.lifecare.com/merck.

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—eliminating stress and keeping employees happy and productive both at home and at work.

Special Needs: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Program—for employees and their families 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 responsibility 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 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, whether that individual has received a diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease or related dementia).

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

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