Work/Life Balance
At Brigham and Women's, we know that healthcare is one of the most fast-paced careers imaginable. But we also know it is one of the most rewarding — whether that's in non-clinical roles or working directly with patients. We operate non-stop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have done so for the past 150 years. Yet we've done our best to help your life at the hospital with your life outside the hospital be what you want to make it.
We've developed innovative programs to assist you with childcare, education, and more. We've also instituted several programs that give credit where credit is due by recognizing employees for their outstanding commitment. Here are just a few of the ways we can help a BWH career fit into your life.
Scheduling
Wherever possible, we've left scheduling up to those who understand their schedules best — the departments and staff. Managers and employees working together have reduced the amount of on-call work in certain departments, meaning key units enjoy shift work only.
Employee PERKS Program
Just by presenting your BWH ID badge, employees and volunteers are able to find substantial discounts on a variety of goods and services from companies and stores across the Boston area. Here are some examples of what kind of perks you can expect:
- Specialty TIX – discounts for the Boston Red Sox, Celtics, the New England Aquarium, IMAX Theater, movies, concerts, events, and more.
- Entertainment in Boston – enjoy special rates and discounts at such entertainment hotspots as Alan James Disc Jockey, Boston Billiard Club, Jam Spot, and a wide range of restaurants.
- Financial Credit – You and your immediate family are eligible to join firms such as Merrill Lynch, Professional Advantage Financial Group, and Summit Mortgage.
- Travel – Employees can also enjoy significant savings on travel with Advantage Cruise & Travel LLC, Black Rose Fishing Charters, Community Boating Inc., White Swan Bed and Breakfast, Point Sebago Resort, and various other charter companies.
- Health and Beauty – a range of day and beauty spas offer BWH employees discounts on a variety of services.
- Everyday life – BWH employees can receive discounts on car rentals, auto maintenance, home decorating, home entertainment systems, mobile phone service, wholesale club memberships, wedding invitations, event planning, furniture, moving, and a whole lot more.
Harvard Medical Office of Work & Family
Through our affiliation with Harvard University, BWH is able to offer our employees access to their remarkable Office of Work and Family programs. These offer free information and referral services in the following areas:
For your children:
- In-home childcare agencies
- Childcare centers and preschools
- Family childcare homes
- Summer camps
- After school programs
- Public and private schools
For your elderly relatives or other senior citizens:
- Medicare and medical information
- Home health services
- Visiting nurses
- Nursing home placement
- Community resources
- Support groups
- Social groups and activities for senior citizens
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Through free and confidential seminars and workshops, this program focuses on both work and family-life issues such as work/life balance, stress reduction, family matters, crisis intervention, substance abuse, and many more. EAP also offers a number of seminars and workshops promoting healthy and stable families.
Recently, our EAP has offered domestic violence support groups and seminars in personal health, how to better organize your work space, and how to help kids make healthier choices.
Personal Health and Well-Being Programs
In addition to discounted memberships at some of the area's best health clubs such as the Boston Running Company, FitCorp, and Healthworks Fitness Centers for Women, BWH employees are encouraged to participate in hospital and Partners-wide sports teams in basketball, softball, bowling, and other sports. We also offer several other innovative programs through the Office of Occupational Health Services that encourage and support improved health and fitness among our employees.
Managing your childcare needs while balancing your career can be difficult. That's why BWH has developed several programs to make your time away from your children as easy as possible.
- Longwood Medical Area Child Care Center
For employees whose family income is below $70,000, we provide subsidized tuition to the Longwood Medical Area Child Care Center on a sliding scale basis. An outstanding childcare center, you can be confident your little ones are in good hands.
- Back-up child care center
Sometimes we can't predict when a babysitter will get sick or a child will need to stay home from school. Such childcare emergencies don't need to be stressful thanks to the Back-Up Child Care Center. Employees with children ranging in age from 8 weeks to 12 years can take advantage of this free childcare center up to 20 days every year. All classrooms are staffed by DEEC-certified teachers able to make your child's time at the center as fun, rewarding, educational, and safe as possible.
- Vacation Club
For children 6-12 years old, the Vacation Club allows children to get together for fun and educational activities during school vacations and four weeks out of the summer.
- Parents-in-a-Pinch
This back-up childcare program provides both in-home care and referrals to licensed family day care homes.
Professional Rewards and Recognition
We believe in giving credit where credit is due. That's why BWH has established several recognition programs that celebrate the most outstanding members of our team. These include:
- Partners In Excellence Award – given to those who go above and beyond the call of duty in the areas of patient care, teaching, research, and the important administrative services that make these things possible. Over 30,000 employees have received the award so far.
- Thomson Compassionate Care Awards – The Dennis Thomson Compassionate Care Scholarship award program aims to recognize care providers who not only embody the ideals of compassion, but encourage compassion among their peers. Awards take the form of small seed grants for projects focusing on compassionate care.
- Starfish Awards – for employees committed to care, compassion, respect, advocacy, and mentoring.
- Service Hero Awards – recognizes employees and volunteers who display outstanding service skills in their daily work at the hospital.
- Volunteer of the Year Award – honors individuals who fulfill BWH's mission of quality patient care or teaching and research excellence. The award is presented to a volunteer who has demonstrated superior leadership in the development of a new program, exceptional service to a department, or outstanding customer service.
Supporting Professional Advancement
We offer multiple programs available to all employees to help them advance their careers with us.
- Tuition Reimbursement
For hospital-related non-degree courses, undergraduate degrees, or graduate degrees, reimbursement is $2,000 per year for full-time (36 hours per week) employees, and $1,000 for part-time (20-35 hours per week) employees. For job related certifications or job-related continuing education courses, reimbursement is $1,000 per year for full-time (36 hours per week) employees, and $500 for part-time (20-35 hours per week) employees.
- Information Systems Training
Free training is available to employees on a variety of programs such as MS Word, Excel, Outlook, Access, PowerPoint, Document Direct, Database Modeling, PeopleSoft, and more.
- Professional Training Series
Training for managers and supervisors, and coursework open to all staff. Courses include:
- Communication skills
- Behavioral interviewing
- Project management basics
- Managed care overview
- Healthcare finance 101
- Performance management for non-managers
- Performance management for managers
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