Working at BCBS: Life / Work Balance
BCBSA offers a wide variety of programs and services to help you effectively balance your work life with your personal commitments.
Paid Time Off (PTO)
BCBSA offers a unique program where paid time off is offered in a lump sum, combining vacation and sick time into one allotment. Annual paid time allotments range from 20 to 35 days, depending upon length of service and grade level. During the annual benefit enrollment period, employees are able to sell up to 5 days of paid time off each year.
Company Observed Holidays
Each year, you have the following holidays off with pay:
- New Year's Day
- Dr. Martin Luther King Day
- President's Day
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving
- Day after Thanksgiving
- Christmas Holiday
Funeral Leave
In the event of a death in your immediate family, BCBSA provides you up to three paid days of funeral leave, to use at your discretion.
Military Leave
If called upon for military leave, you can maintain medical, dental, vision and life insurance benefits up to 16 weeks. In addition, we provide employees wage continuation for up to the first 6 weeks of their active military leave.
Jury Duty Leave
We encourage employees to fulfill their civic responsibility when summoned for jury duty. BCBSA will provide employees their regular compensation for jury leave up to ten working days.
Financial Planning
BCBSA continues to sponsor financial education seminars conducted by Merrill Lynch. They also provide personal financial plan or a free one-on-one consultation to interested employees.
Maternity/Paternity Leave
New parents who have completed one year of service are granted 5 days of paid absence after the birth or adoption of their child.
KidsDadsMoms.com
BCBSA staff has access to KidsDadsMoms.com, an educational resource that helps families solve the puzzle of children's unique learning preferences. Staff can create a custom learning profile which is developed through a series of questions based on leading research in child development and educational psychology.
Mother's Room
BCBSA has a Mother's Room in both Chicago and Washington, D.C. facilities to accommodate moms who have elected to breastfeed their newborn children. This Mother's Room offers a private area with electrical outlets; comfortable chair; kitchenette with sink and refrigerator for safe storage of expressed milk; and locked storage space for pumps and other supplies.
FitnessCenter
In BCBSA's Chicago and Washington, D.C. facilities, you have free access to an on-site fitness center with exercise equipment, showers and locker. Additionally, the Chicago fitness center also offers group workout programs.
Complementary Healthcare Program
BCBSA employees can access hundreds of complementary health care providers and get substantial savings on health and wellness products. The savings can be as much as 40% off the retail cost.
Onsite health fairs/screening
As part of BCBSA wellness program offering, we provide flu shots in the fall to keep our employees healthy during the flu season. We also have an annual health fair where employees can speak to health vendors and professionals about ways to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Transit Program/Parking Reimbursement Account
This program allows employees to make a pre-tax purchase of up to $100 per month in transit vouchers for public transportation. Employees can also establish a pre-tax reimbursement account of up to $195 per month for qualified parking expenses.
Credit Union
We have a well established credit union on-site that provides employees with savings accounts, auto and personal loans, savings clubs, discount movie tickets, restaurant coupons, and Disney club.
Alternative Work Arrangements
We recognize that it is not always possible or feasible for all of our employees to work on-site because of personal scheduling needs or commute distance. Because of this, we offer alternative work arrangements and telecommuting options for some of our jobs.
