Global Workforce

• Our new flex-time program, Freedom to Work, is important to senior chemist Pramilia Bhatia, who travels to her native India regularly. A 22-year Abbott veteran, she says the program gives her the freedom to enjoy both her work and her family.

We are committed to helping Abbott employees fulfill their potential and build rewarding careers. We choose our people carefully and guide them toward meaningful career paths, focusing on four key objectives:

• Finding a diverse mix of people for the right roles across global cultures and areas of expertise in which we operate.
• Aligning the growth of our workforce with our global strategies.
• Supporting our people with strong organizational values and ongoing career development opportunities.
• Retaining them with proper rewards and opportunities for personal growth.

Our human resources strategy reflects the dynamic opportunity inherent in the breadth and diversity of our four businesses. We guide and enable employees to build meaningful careers through exposure to unconventional career paths that crisscross cultures, countries, businesses, functions, technologies, and customers. These professional and personal experiences are exciting for employees and enable them to solve challenges that patients face.

Awards & Recognition

Abbott is listed among the best places to work around the world – including Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the United Kingdom, Korea and the United States. Abbott continues to be recognized for our innovative programs that help our employees find success at work and home. Recent honors include:

• Listed on BusinessWeek's "Best Places to Launch a Career" for two years.
• Profiled in the Princeton Review's "Best Companies for Entry-Level Jobs" for four years.
• Named among the top 20 biotechnology and pharmaceutical employers by Science magazine for five years.
• Named to The Scientist magazine's list of "Best Places to Work in Industry" for five years.
• Awarded the 2007 Charter Award by Howard University, one of the nation's top historically black colleges, for Abbott's contributions to the education, scholarship and leadership of Howard students.
• Honored in FORTUNE magazine as a top company for diversity for 10 years.
• Named to Diversity Inc. magazine's annual list of the "Top 50 Companies for Diversity" for four years.
• Named by Working Mother magazine as one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" for seven years.
• Named to Hispanic Business magazine's "Diversity Elite 60" list of top companies for Hispanics.
• Named one of the top 10 "Adoption-Friendly Workplaces" by the Dave Thomas Foundation.
• Honored as a "Most Admired Employer" by US Black Engineer and Information Technology magazine.
• Abbott Canada was named one of the "50 Best Employers in Canada" by Hewitt Associates.
• Abbott Germany was named "Top Employer in Germany" by the leading business magazine Karriere and the Corporate Research Foundation.
• Abbott Italy ranked eighth among all companies and first among health care companies on a list of the best employers in Italy by the Great Places to Work Institute Italia.
• Abbott Greece ranked fifth among all companies and first among health care companies on a list of best employers in Greece, and one of the "Top 100 Companies to Work For in Europe" by the Great Places to Work Institute.
• Abbott Ireland was named one of the "Top 50 Best Companies to Work For" in Ireland, and one of the "Top 100 Companies to Work For in Europe" by the Great Places to Work Institute.
• Abbott Denmark was named one of the best employers in Denmark by the Great Places to Work Institute.
• Abbott UK was named an "Outstanding" place to work in the UK by Best Companies, and has been honored for eleven years for its ongoing commitment to staff training and development by the Investors in People Standard.
• Abbott Brazil was honored with the "HR Citizen" award as one of the top 10 companies for corporate citizenship by Gestão e RH magazine.
• Abbott Belgium ranked seventh on a list of best employers in Belgium by the Great Places to Work Institute.
• Listed among FORTUNE magazine's "America's Most Admired Companies" 1984–present.