Page 286 - How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times

Employee Well-Being C273

detail than others, some prefer e-mail communication, others prefer
face-to-face. To deliver our messages effectively, we use the weekly
company newsletter to announce changes and promote wellness. We
also send information to employees’ homes so family members can see
what’s new. We also offer live workshops as well as recorded sessions
(video on demand). New this year, we offered short podcasts, and of
course the benefits fair where employees can speak to someone and get
an individualized look at their situation. We also publish an annual
benefit statement summary showing how much we spend on benefits
so employees can appreciate how much value they are getting.

Q: Beyond benefits, what does Vertex do that promotes em-
ployee well-being?
Kelly-Croswell: The benefits are simply an expression of our culture.
We have created a very open work environment designed to sup-
port innovation, which means people have to feel free to try and fail.
We value teamwork, so we encourage and get lots of cross-functional
communication. We also came to realize that meetings were getting
in the way of having the time we need to do important work, so we
instituted meeting-free days, every third Wednesday of the month,
when we all have time to catch up on work or even take a few mo-
ments to pause and think. Now our researchers have more time to do
research. This has been very well received. We are also very flexible
about adjusting schedules. We just have a very supportive culture
and our benefits prove it. We got a comment from an employee who
attended our College Coach program that says it all: “This solidifies
that Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a real understanding of employees’
well-being, and it shows commitment.”

: THE “PAY-ME-NOW-OR-PAY-ME-LATER” PROPOSITION

If we continue to allow employees to live less-than-healthy lifestyles,
we should not be shocked that our health-care costs go through the