Bank One Again Earns 'Best Employer' Rating for Working Mothers
For the third consecutive year, Bank One is ranked as one of the country's "100 Best Employers for Working Mothers," according to Working Mother magazine.
"I'm proud that Bank One continues to be recognized for its family-friendly policies and benefits," said Jamie Dimon, Bank One chairman and CEO. "Our competitive benefits help us attract and retain talented employees who provide excellent service to our customers."
Bank One's 78,000 employees are offered a broad range of benefits, including medical and dental coverage, pension and 401(k) plans, a discounted stock-purchase plan, tuition reimbursement and adoption assistance, as well as programs like flexible work options and wellness initiatives. With women representing a majority of the company's workforce, these benefits provide financial security and often make it easier to juggle responsibilities at work and home.
"Raising a family and working can be a challenge today, so we've tried to ease the stress for working mothers by offering a number of benefits that can help them balance family needs and work requirements," said David Donovan, Bank One's head of human resources. "Our programs actually help us serve our customers better, because family friendly programs reduce absenteeism and turnover while increasing employee retention and productivity. It's a win-win situation for employees, the company and customers."
Bank One family-friendly benefits offer employees a number of ways to balance work and family:
Child care
In just the last year, Bank One has helped nearly 1,900 employees find child care, generally at private providers near the employee's home.
"I am a new parent, and it amazed me that I could make one phone call to find out what child-care facilities are in my area," said Sherry Burrer, credit analyst in Columbus, Ohio. "I did not have to spend any time or worry looking for care, and the company even offers a handbook with questions to ask potential child care providers."
The company also has a child-care center at its 2,700-employee First USA credit card facility in Elgin, Ill., and back-up child-care programs in several cities where the company has large numbers of employees, including Chicago, Columbus, Houston and Wilmington, Del.
Flexible Work Options
Employees in many areas across the company can request a flexible work schedule that fits their family and personal needs while making sure customers are served well. "Flex time," for example, allows a standard workweek to be tailored to the employee's schedule, with flexible daily start and end times.
For Dee Dee Lane of Lexington, Ky., flextime allows her to change her work hours and ease the burden of a 50-minute commute, so she can spend more time with her family. "Because of the flexibility," Lane said, "I am a happier employee who is more committed to serving customers."
Medical and Wellness Programs
The company offers a prenatal education program, operates six wellness centers and continues to offer health seminars such as smoking cessation, weight control and cholesterol education. Several locations offer free health screenings, mammography testing and comfortable lactation rooms equipped with pumps and refrigerators.
The Wellness program recently introduced a 24-hour online health information resource from Mayo Clinic, customized for Bank One employees and their families. The website includes medical references, current health news, healthy recipes, a self-care section on how to treat common health concerns, and a section with personalized features that allows employees to track health goals for exercise and nutrition.
Role Models in Senior Management
Bank One's executive management team now has two working mothers. Sarah McClelland, executive vice president and chief auditor, and Christine Edwards, chief legal officer and corporate secretary, each have two children.
Bank One Corporation is the nation's sixth largest bank holding company, with assets of more than $270 billion. Bank One offers a full range of financial services to commercial and business customers and consumers. Information about Bank One can be found on the Internet at www.bankone.com.
About Working Mother
Working Mother magazine recently released its 16th annual list of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers," a compilation of corporations that recognize the value and needs of working families (see www.workingmother.com). The complete list and company highlights are available in the October issue of Working Mother.
Founded in 1979, Working Mother magazine reaches more than 3 million readers each month, and is the only national business magazine written for executive and entrepreneurial mothers. Working Mother is published by Working Mother Media, which also operates Working Woman magazine, the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) and its Executive Female bimonthly, and the annual Work-Life Congress.