At S.C. Johnson & Son, two Fridays per month are declared “meetings-free,” which allows employees to finish leftover work instead of letting it pile up.

Soaking in a hot tub, snoozing during a massage and batting tennis balls over the net relaxes moms at this consumer products company, which gives its employee families access to a 146-acre park, complete with recreation center and backup child care, near its Racine, WI, headquarters. Employees find even more downtime when they work outside of the office (as 97% did last year) and stop answering their corporate phones and email by executive order during a 16-day paid winter break. If their time off leaves them energized to try new things, employees can apply for tuition reimbursement toward an undergraduate or master’s degree or take free technical and liberal arts courses for credit at the Waxdale manufacturing plant in Sturtevant, WI. Their kids can tap lifeguard and babysitting courses.

Chairman & CEO: H. Fisk Johnson

Director of Organizational Effectiveness: Andrea M. Konz

Women managers/execs: 36%

Women among top earners: 28%

Women on board of directors: 30%

Women corporate executive hires in 2008: 0%

Women participating in management or leadership training in the past year: 62%

Women participating in formalized executive succession planning last year: 57%

Women promoted last year who utilized a formal flexible work arrangement: 73%

Formal compensation policies reward managers who help women advance: Yes