Whether they’re rushing to treat emergency patients wheeled into intensive care or calmly scheduling next month’s bariatric surgeries, the pace rarely slows for the 5,417 hourly workers employed by this academic medical center and its 85 associated clinics. To counterbalance it, every single person flexed hours at some point last year, while half of the full-time hourly staff compressed their schedules and 20 to 30 people traded shifts each week. Nurse Valerie Mack tweaked her hours to attend her son’s baseball game: “Being there to see him play meant the world to me,” recalls the mom of two. Lisa Atkins, a physical therapist, frequently adjusts her schedule: “I can leave work early one day and make up time later that week,” reports the mom of four. On average, most hourly workers stay with the center for a decade, relishing perks such as free city bus passes, free taxis home during an emergency, free tax preparation for those making less than $48,000, tuition reimbursements for 15 academic credits per year and 10% salary contributions to their retirement plans, deposited monthly by their employer. Taking the edge off are two on-site fitness centers and in-house yoga, Zumba and circuit training classes that cost less than $2 per week.

Hourly workers 74%

President & CEO Donna Katen-Bahensky

Senior VP, HR Janice Bultema

Female hourly workers 79%

Work hours required for family health insurance 12

Job skills training during work hours for hourly workers Yes

Encourage breaks so nursing moms can breast-pump Yes

Average annual paid time off taken by hourly workers 30 days

Minimum job-guaranteed maternity leave offered to hourly workers 26 weeks

Minimum paid maternity leave offered to hourly workers 12 days at full pay