Abbott Named to Working Mother Magazine's 'Best Companies' List for the Eleventh Consecutive Year

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Sept 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today that it has been named one of the 100 Best Companies by Working Mother magazine.  This is the eleventh consecutive year that Abbott has been included on the prestigious list, which recognizes companies for leadership in providing family-friendly benefits, programs and workplace culture.  Working Mother magazine also recognized Abbott as one of the 10 Best Companies for Kids for providing family-friendly benefits – from adoption assistance and child care to college scholarships.

"Abbott is honored to be recognized by Working Mother magazine for our ongoing efforts in creating a supportive and fulfilling work environment for working mothers and their families," said Stephen Fussell, senior vice president, Human Resources, Abbott.  "Our culture of offering innovative career programs to meet the ever-changing needs of our employees fosters a flexible and customized work environment that enables employees to achieve success at work and at home."

Abbott offers a comprehensive offering of health care, wellness, work/life and other family-friendly benefits, as well as flexible work options such as job sharing, compressed work-weeks, telecommuting and flextime to help employees find success at work and home.  Abbott employees are given opportunities to succeed, lead and grow in their careers through training, mentoring, tuition reimbursement, networking groups and development programs that provide support and advancement opportunities.

Abbott Recognized as a Premier Employer

In addition to being included on the Working Mother lists, Abbott has been named to DiversityInc magazine's list of the top companies for diversity for eight years and Hispanic Business magazine's list of the Top 60 Diversity Elite for five years.  The company also has been recognized by The Scientist magazine as a top employer for scientists for seven years.  Additionally, Abbott has been named a great place to work in more than 25 countries around the world.  

About Working Mother and the 100 Best Companies List

Abbott was selected for the 2011 Working Mother 100 Best Companies based on an extensive application with more than 600 questions on workforce, compensation, child care, flexibility programs, leave policies and more.  It also surveys the usage, availability and tracking of programs, as well as the accountability of managers who oversee them.  Eight areas were measured and scored: workforce profile, benefits, women's issues and advancement, child care, flexible work, paid time off and leaves, company culture, and work/life programs.

Profiles of Abbott and the other 100 Best Companies, as well as national comparisons, are in the October issue of Working Mother and at workingmother.com/bestcompanies.

Working Mother magazine reaches 2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers; WorkingMother.com brings to the Web home and career information, advice and a broad range of solutions daily. Working Mother's signature research initiative, Working Mother 100 Best Companies, is the most important benchmark for work-life practices in corporate America. Working Mother Media, a division of Bonnier Corp. (www.bonnier.com), includes the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE, www.nafe.com), Diversity Best Practices (www.diversitybestpractices.com), the WorkLife Congress and the Multicultural Women's Conference and Leadership Summits. Working Mother Media's mission is to serve as a champion of culture change.

About Abbott

Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs nearly 90,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.  

Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's Web site at http://www.abbott.com.

SOURCE Abbott