AARP Press Center: News Releases
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 / News Release
August 30, 2006
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.
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.