Flexible Work Arrangements Thrive at AARP’s Best Employers for Workers Over 50
Major Firms Such as Volkswagen
of America, Inc., Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Principal Financial Group and Busch
Entertainment Corp. Are Among 2006 Winners
Americans work hard and are proud of it.
Enlightened employers are making strategic business decisions
in addressing the needs of an aging workforce by increasingly providing flexible
work arrangements that accommodate the schedules of the employees and their
families.
These alternative practices are offered by a number of well-known
national and international corporations, including such 2006 AARP Best Employers
for Workers Over 50 winners as Volkswagen of America, Inc., Hoffmann-La Roche
Inc., Principal Financial Group, and Busch Entertainment Corporation. The innovations
appear to be paying big dividends in improving productivity and morale, and
in boosting retention rates.
For example, Volkswagen, ranked #6 in the Best Employers search
and based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, offers some of its full and part-time employees
flex time, compressed work schedules, job sharing and telecommuting. Some employees
phase into retirement with part-time work. The auto manufacturer gives its retirees
work opportunities, offering temporary work assignments, consulting work, and
telecommuting, in addition to part-time work.
The top finisher this year in the annual AARP search—now
in its sixth year—is Mercy Health System of Janesville, Wisconsin, a system
with 63 facilities, including three hospitals, over 50 outpatient clinics, post-acute
care, nursing care and other facilities throughout southern Wisconsin and northern
Illinois.
The not-for-profit organization also offers numerous flexible
options, including weekend-only work, nursing "float" options (work
at different facilities and or departments), work-at-home opportunities, "seasonal
work" programs that allow staffers to go on leave for extended periods
while maintaining benefit eligibility, and on-call assignments that involve
a limited number of hours per month that can be expanded and/or contracted based
on the employee's availability.
"These dynamic employers recognize the importance of creating
a mutually beneficial work environment," said AARP CEO Bill Novelli in
announcing the 2006 list of 50 Best Employers. "Flexible arrangements can
be a big part of that positive environment, enabling workers to balance both
work and family obligations."
Novelli added that while some firms value 50+ workers for their
experience, motivation, and strong engagement, more employers need to recognize
the advantages that those workers bring to the table.
In addition to Mercy Health System, the remaining top 10 finishers
are #2, Lee Memorial Health System of Fort Myers, Florida; #3, Bon Secours Richmond
Health System of Richmond, Virginia; #4, Leesburg Regional Medical Center and
The Villages Regional Hospital in Leesburg, Florida; #5, Yale-New Haven Hospital
in New Haven, Connecticut; #6, Volkswagen of America in Auburn Hills, Michigan;
#7, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts; #8, Oakwood
Healthcare System, Inc. in Dearborn, Michigan; #9, First Horizon National Corporation
in Memphis, Tennessee, and #10, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. in Nutley, New Jersey.
Nine of the top 10 Best Employers—including Mercy Health
System—are former winners.
In conjunction with its Best Employers search, AARP announced
the separate 2006 winners of the Bernard E. Nash Award for Innovation. These
employers, chosen from among the Best Employers, were selected for success in
at least one of these areas: flexible work options, recruitment, retiree work
opportunities, and training and development.
The Innovation award winners are: retiree work opportunities,
Bon Secours Richmond Health System of Richmond, Virginia; recruitment, Busch
Entertainment Corporation of Clayton, Missouri; training and development, Scripps
Health of San Diego, California, and flexible work options, Lee Memorial Health
of Fort Myers, Florida.
For the main Best Employers search, AARP invites employers to
apply for the designation by submitting an application describing their exemplary
practices toward 50 and over workers.
Key areas of consideration are: recruiting practices, opportunities
for training, education and career development; workplace accommodations; alternative
work options, such as flexible scheduling, job sharing, and phased retirement;
employee health and pension benefits; retiree benefits, and age diversity of
the workforce.
The awardees will be honored at a dinner in Chicago on September
21. In connection with the event, AARP will convene a working conference of
employers the next day to identify challenges—and solutions—associated
with the aging of the workforce. AARP The Magazine will feature the Best Employers
winners in its November-December issue.
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To learn more about AARP's work on 50+ workers, visit
the AARP Employer Resource Center at www.aarp.org/employerresourcecenter.
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization
that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that
are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. We produce
AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper;
AARP Segunda Juventud, our bimonthly magazine in Spanish and English;
NRTA Live & Learn, our quarterly newsletter for 50+ educators; and
our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides
security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support
from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices
in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.
Virgin Islands.
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By
K.S. Date
30-09-2006
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