WorldatWork recognizes companies and business leaders for work-life balance

Jessica Lee, Manager for the Global LifeWorks and Inclusion Team, Discovery Communications

Lee joined Discovery Communications as an intern in 2008. She oversees all U.S. and Latin America work-life, well-being and flexibility programs. In 2013, Lee played an integral role in the expansion of parental leave and adoption assistance, which revamped paid maternity leave (increased from three to four weeks) and doubled adoption reimbursement (from $5,000 to $10,000).

Additionally, Lee spearheaded the creation of the Sterling Medical Center after finding that employee medical claims were higher than in other regions. She manages the wellness center, located at Discovery's Sterling, Va., satellite location, and also provides monthly status and utilization reports, ensuring the center continues to meet the needs of employees.

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Gail Henderson, Work-Life Benefits Planning and Program Manager, John Deere & Co.

Henderson has been an employee at John Deere for 25 years. While at Deere, she has been a health benefits representative and human resources manager, and most recently managed health, wellness and work-life programs.

"This award is a great honor," Henderson said. "But it's not just me. We have a committed leadership team, and we are always looking for ways to integrate work-life across the entire organization."

Company: Bon Secours Health System Inc.

The Bon Secours Health System Inc. defines its Just Wage program as "a salary that is sufficient to enable individuals to support themselves and their families. The company's minimum wage is currently about 26% higher than the legislated minimum wage.

But Just Wage is about more than the hourly rate they pay employees. It provides key support for lower-wage earners and their families, such as college scholarships for the employees and their children and money for buying a home.

Company: TIAA-CREF

TIAA-CREF clustered its onsite clinics into what it calls a "medical home." The onsite medical home groups work-life programs together to increase employee engagement. The programs are housed onsite and include:

The medical home model implements a number of concepts in an integrated fashion in ways not typically seen in many employer settings by grouping programs that encourage healthy lifestyles under one roof (EAP functions including work-life coaching and education, care management programs, healthy lifestyle coaching and wellness programs). In addition, the model uses direct outreach to employees from the onsite professional staff to increase the employee engagement and education.