Johnson & Johnson Offered Paid Time Off To Employees For Casting Their Vote


11/10/2020

At such time, the last thing for the employees would be to juggle time to “get to the polls”.


Dailycsr.com – 10 November 2020 – The editor in chief of “Global Content Lab” at Johnson & Johnson, Liz Ozaist reminds us how our lives changed due to the ongoing pandemic whereby adapting to fit in the current scenario with telemedicine, hybrid learning models, zoom meetings among others.
 
Going out there to cast ones vote amid this scenario is yet another challenge put in front of the citizens of the U.S. Likewise, Johnson & Johnson decided to help its “over 40,000” U.S. employees for November 3, 2020 voting session and make the “process a little easier”.
 
In the process, the company rolled out a benefit allowing its workforce to take “paid time off to vote”. Moreover, the company has joined hands with the organisation of “When We All Vote” in an attempt to inspire people to “plan to vote”. The executive vice-president as well as the chief human resource officer at Johnson & Johnson, Peter Fasolo, Ph.D. talked about the reason behind the company’s decision to “support its employees” in creating voting plans amid pandemic situations.
 
People have come across various “unique challenges” across the world due to the pandemic, while Ozaist added that the employees of Johnson & Johnson also dealt with various challenges such as parents had to “figure out how to juggle working remotely with helping their children learn remotely” while the frontline had to mostly remain at work and at Johnson & Johnson there were “onsite heroes”. And Ozaist continued:
“They are the researchers, manufacturing employees and other essential workers who have continued to come to work every day to ensure that we can meet the healthcare needs of people across the globe”.
 
At such time, the last thing for the employees would be to juggle time to “get to the polls”. As a result, the company took the decision to allow them “four hours of paid time off on Election Day in the U.S.” supporting the employees in expressing their “right to vote” so as to achieve “meaningful change” and to improve communities.
 
In fact, the above mentioned decision stemmed up from a “simple question”:
“How can we ensure that we are doing everything we can to assist our employees during these unprecedented times and make certain they have the support they need to exercise their responsibility as a citizen of the United States? Or as I like to ask: What kind of company do we want to be?”
 
The answer was guided by the company’s Credo wherein paragraph two and three have been dedicated to employees and communities as well as the world at large respectively.  In Ozaist’s words:
“So this Election Day benefit helps us deliver on both commitments at a time when our communities and employees are challenged—because it’s not just about voting. It’s about the importance of employees being able to volunteer at their polling place. It’s about giving them the ability to spend some time getting the vote out within their community. It's about so many things that can help drive purpose and meaning in life”.
 
Recalling what a mentor told once, Ozaist added:
“Don't just think of creating policies—think about how you can help make employees' lives better, so they can also fulfill their family and personal responsibilities. That's what makes a good employee benefit.”
 
 
References:
3blmedia.com