The company has won awards for its nursing culture and fertility programs.
Merck Healthcare Vietnam has become a winner of employee engagement of the year – Vietnam and the best sustainability initiative of the year – Vietnam received Vietnam honors at the 2025 Healthcare Asian Pharmaceutical Awards. These recognitions are companies that promote an employee-centered culture and address Vietnam's increasingly declining fertility rates.
Nursing culture
Merck Healthcare Vietnam implements a nursing culture where employees are at the heart of the company’s people’s strategy. The company prioritizes the well-being of its people in three dimensions: physical, mental and social, and believes that healthy employees lead to affluent business.
Based on this vision, Vietnam Healthcare has launched several tailored programs to meet the needs of its employees. These initiatives emphasize engagement, career development, comprehensive rewards and mental health, and encourage employees at all levels and business units to participate in shaping people-related projects.
Employees can also hear the path through surveys, join focus groups and become advocates of the implementation of key plans. Invite employees to participate in regular updates from senior leaders through coffee meetings and group discussions. As a follow-up to the annual employee engagement survey, a six-step plan was incorporated into an action plan to listen to employee feedback. The EES 2024 survey of this approach showed a 90% follow-up rate, with 95% of employees saying the results were communicated in their teams.
Beyond that, Vietnam Healthcare also interacts with employees through its family members, such as on the occasion of Little Scientist Day, where their children have the opportunity to explore science, AI and VR in the Merck office. This helps strengthen the social connection between Mercks, their families, children and Merck.
In addition, Merck Vietnam also provides female colleagues with pre- and post-viral leave. Merck Vietnam is also a pioneer in implementing family-friendly programs for its employees, such as “Birth Support Programs for Employees Performing Assisted Replications based on medical indications.” Merck Vietnam provides financial support to all employees and their spouses when it comes to medical indications to assist reproduction. During the time of Merck, the program's maximum subsidy was €15,000 per qualified employee, helping employees realize their dream of becoming parents while demonstrating the company's commitment to employees.
As an organization with nearly 70% of the workforce, Merck introduced “Welcome employees for maternity leave or long-term sick leave,” which provides a care package that includes shipping to expectant mothers starting from the seventh month of pregnancy. The package also covers postpartum service and welcome packages to prepare new moms for the best possible situation in physical and mental health and to get the most out of energy.
Most importantly, Merck established an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), where employees can be consulted, where experts consult on a variety of topics ranging from professional priorities to personal priorities. The channel is operated by independent partners of Merck, with strong consulting expertise and a way to maintain the best service and confidentiality.
Fertility
Merck’s support is an initiative designed to address the social, economic and social challenges of low birth rates in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, including Vietnam, providing resources and research to support policy makers and advocates in building a family-friendly society.
After implementing the program, it distributes an advanced fertility toolkit that provides reliable data and insights, and then helps professionals understand and manage declining fertility rates.
In Vietnam, a scientific forum was also organized, with policy makers, fertility experts and international partners participating and discussing the causes of fertility decline in August 2024. Through this, relevant management can formulate policies and strategies for the future.
The fertility counting program is a crucial initiative because it involves a question that has a significant impact on Vietnam’s future. Declining fertility is not only a health care problem; it affects economic, labor and overall social stability.
The project is also unique because it connects science, policy and the public and enables everyone to work on solving problems. The fertility counting program is ultimately an example of innovation and collaboration.
On March 6, 2025, under the patronage of the German Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Merck Vietnam hosted the “Maternal Choice: With or Without Children”, which emphasized the importance of sustainability in social responsibility. This activity aims to promote discussion around the choice of parenthood and the impact of these decisions on individuals and society. By addressing these topics, Merck Vietnam demonstrates its commitment to supporting employees to make informed choices while promoting sustainability and a socially conscious culture.
The Healthcare Asian Pharmaceutical Awards appreciates Asian companies that redefine drug excellence. It offers recognition for game changers and visionaries with unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence.
Healthcare Asia Pharma Awards are presented by Healthcare Asia Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2026 awards ceremony and be recognized for the innovation and unique initiatives of the organization, thus enhancing your business and your pharma industry, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez. [email protected].
