It will not surprise anyone who is at least partially awake that, nearly three years after COVID-19 hit our shores, the workplace is an unpredictable place. As Newsweek's 2022 list of Most Loved Companies shows, in this environment, against the backdrop of the Great Resignation and quiet quitting, the companies that employees are most passionate about are those that have been willing to change with the times and actively work to meet the evolving needs of the people who work for them.
What's critical? For one thing, recognition that the hybrid workplace seems to have become a permanent fixture—even after multiple booster shots and companies like Goldman Sachs demanding that their well-paid Wall Streeters return to cubicle-world. Worker resistance to mandates to return to the office is a big deal, too. For example: Apple employees are battling to keep their hybrid or work-at-home arrangements going. According to NBC News, "employees have launched a petition against Apple's return-to-office plans."
In other words, people got the power and it's not certain they'll ever give it up again—and the best employers recognize that and act accordingly.
Of course, a worldwide economic downturn—thanks, Vladimir Putin and Jerome Powell—might change the rules of engagement with employers. But for now, there's no end in sight, precisely because of developments like the Great Resignation and the labor shortages that ensued. Many companies—more on that a little later—are either offering hybrid roles or are just letting employees work where they want to work. But there's more.
Thanks partly to the labor shortage, companies are doing more to keep their employees happy. It's not just free Doritos and the occasional Yankees or Dodgers tickets in the company luxury boxes. Career development may be the most important perk emerging in recent months.
"In the new age of quiet quitting, companies who are winning at the talent game provide and believe strongly in the benefits of career development to stay ahead," says Louis Carter, CEO of the Best Practice Institute (BPI), Newsweek's partner in the Most Loved Workplaces project.
That's what we discovered in this year's list. Our No. 1 company Dell, for example, has been a pioneer in both remote work and nurturing careers to a point where a majority of management promotions are from inside the family. (See the story that follows.) And many more that made this year's list—from test-prepper Kaplan to Eaton, a power management firm—are doing much the same thing.
The 2022 List
As with last year's inaugural list, this collection of small, medium and large companies was produced in partnership with the Palm Beach Gardens, Florida-based BPI. And, as we did a year ago, we go deep. We don't just, for instance, count how many benefits employers provide—401(k) plans, medical benefits and all that. What we measure, which separates us, we believe, from those other "best of" lists, is how employees feel about their bosses.
We answer the big question: Do workers truly love and feel in sync with the company they work for?
"Emotional connection" often means success for a company no matter what its size, according to BPI's Carter, who is also the author of the 2019 book In Great Company: How to Spark Peak Performance by Creating an Emotionally Connected Workplace (McGraw-Hill).
BPI research chief Scott Baxt, who over the years has scrutinized thousands of managers and employees, says the bottom line is this: Hired hands are as much as four times more likely to be more productive if they love the company they toil for. Also, to no one's surprise, those same employees tend to stay on the job, cutting down on the turnover that bedevils many employers these days.
"The data is clearer than ever," says Baxt. "Employees want to go home each day and know they contributed, whether in an entry-level position or senior management. The companies on this list highlight how they have given a voice to all employees and, in return, have been rewarded with increased productivity and performance."
How did the companies make the list? More than 1.4 million employees were surveyed at businesses ranging in size from 50 employees to more than 10,000; some 450 companies were accepted to apply for certification as a "Most Loved Workplace" and nearly 300 made the cut. The top 100 among them were chosen based on a variety of factors that BPI's research has revealed are most important to employee satisfaction. The criteria included, for example: Is collaboration and teamwork important? Are there opportunities for advancement? Is the company a good citizen or does it just pretend to be for public relations purposes? (See "Methodology" for more details.)
We're happy to report that the firms on our list seem to follow their better angels. But like any business, large or small, some of our companies have slipped up in the past; There are, for example, employee lawsuits and even battles with regulators. How they overcame the pitfalls is what, in the end, mattered to us—changing practices to address problems and challenges is a critical indication of the strength of leadership and determination to do what's right.
What Employees Really Want
So, what really changed in a year? If you looked closely at last year's top 100, the COVID-induced hybrid workplace and other work-at-home policies dominated—and that mattered to employees a lot. Were employers being flexible enough? Did they gladly offer work-at-home options? Did remote workers feel like they were part of the team even if they opted to work from the kitchen table?
Those issues haven't gone away, as the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) will tell you. "To attract and retain employees, employers must continue to offer flexible solutions that meet the needs of their workforce," says Bhushan Sethi, PwC's joint global leader, people and organization. "Data from (our 2022) Hopes and Fears survey shows that not only do employees expect flexible work options now (62 percent) but 63 percent expect their company to offer that kind of approach in the next year." In addition, nearly half of Gen Z and millennial workers say they'd be willing to give up 10 percent or more of their future earnings, Sethi reports, in exchange for that flexibility. He adds: "Companies should experiment with their hybrid model and adapt to the changing needs of employees."
While hybrid work is a given, though, there appears to be a bigger focus on career development this year—maybe because the hybrid model creates its own set of problems. PwC "found that more than two-thirds of full-time remote workers are concerned about missing out on development opportunities," Sethi says.
Employees, in fact, cite career development as a big factor in remaining with the firms they work for. But even that has changed in certain ways—perhaps because of the tight marketplace. It is, in other words, a sign of the times. Employers used to have more control, Carter points out.
"In the past," he explains, "career development was a fairly stringent path companies had the power to control." Carter continues. "If you were identified as a high potential sales employee, employers mapped out a path for you."
Now? "Employees can identify any area" at a company and "develop in an entirely different function," Carter says. In other words: Employees have a bigger hand in their own fate. No more getting stuck in the sales track if that's what they seem to be only good at.
"The key," Carter says, "is allowing workers to take responsibility for where they would like their career to progress and the company preparing them for that path within the company."
Secrets of Success
How does this work in practice? Let's count the ways. For example, Fresenius Medical Care North America (No. 73) has an in-house Professional Development Academy, open to anyone who feels like they need to juice their career. (More than 22,000 employees have taken advantage.) Every year, in the first quarter, Kendra Scott (No. 83) employees have a chance to lay out their career goals in what's called the "Alignment Day."
Eaton (No. 72) has a program called a "Stretch Assignment Marketplace" where employees can show their creative chops. Launched in 2016, more than 800 employees completed 385 projects ranging from digitization to customer relationships. "Employees are encouraged," the company says, "to choose projects they think will best use their talents and help build the skills they need in developing their career."
SAP America (No. 2) has an in-house incubator for employees to launch new ventures. Dell, our No. 1, is well known for its Career Hub, where employees can build out their own development plans. According to one employee who has been with Dell a year or so: "My manager is invested in my professional growth and development and is actively making sure I stay focused on growing where I want."
Perhaps no one is better at the career development game than Kaplan, the test-prep firm. The company (No. 39), for example, actively helps employees beef up their CVs at a month-long program called DevelopU. There, they come up with individual, self-directed development plans. Nearly 3,000 employees attended the program last year, which featured sessions ranging from strategic thinking to business essentials.
Other career-boosting programs at Kaplan include formal Individual Development Plans (IDP) that, among other things, identify a worker's strengths and areas they want to improve. One employee IDP led to a "leadership tour" where he switched roles with a peer to learn how another department worked. The company's Leadership Forums help mid-senior leaders create projects that will help them move up to higher positions within the company.
"I've worked in many of the different parts of the organization and I personally know the functions and moved up through the ranks," says CEO Gregory Marino, who started at Kaplan as an intern almost 30 years ago. "It is what we do."
Indeed, it's what all of our companies on this year's list do, from intense career development programs to creative hybrid work arrangements to diversity initiatives. So, wherever you work—at home, in the office or both—dig into this year's list. No matter where you fall in the corporate hierarchy, you'll find something useful, as will your bosses and their bosses.
Until the Fed and Jerome Powell strangle the economy into recession, employees still rule.
▸Most Loved Workplaces® is a registered trademark of the Best Practice Institute, Inc., of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Rank | Logo | Company | Industry | Location | Employees | Loved Because |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Dell Technologies | Technology | Round Rock, TX | 130,000 | The tech giant is big on employees controlling their own destiny. Example: Workers use Dell’s build-your-career hub to skill up. One result? A majority of management jobs are filled internally. |
| 2 |  | SAP America | Computer Software | Newtown Square, PA | 113,125 | Employees embrace the enterprise software firm’s make-a-difference mission. Exhibit A: The staff can take “Social Sabbaticals”—a month-long program to apply their skills in developing communities. |
| 3 |  | Avanade | Information Technology | Seattle, WA | 58,500 | Nirvana? This Seattle IT consulting company provides reimbursement for adoption, surrogacy and gender transition leaves. Then there’s the team-building Innovate Fest—with cash prizes! |
| 4 |  | Marriott Vacations Worldwide | Hospitality | Orlando, FL | 21,688 | Employees are regularly rewarded for taking risks. Mistakes aren’t punished; instead, they are celebrated and used as learning and development opportunities. Please, sign us up. |
| 5 |  | Hilton Grand Vacations | Hospitality | Orlando, FL | 14,000+ | If you’re employed by this Orlando timeshare company, you get to work in “stunning” locations like the Hawaiian Islands. Awards for performance are a big deal as well, via the Champions Club |
| 6 |  | Ally | Financial Services | Detroit, MI | 11,024 | Looking for a “safe place” to discuss concerns? Ally is for you. Also, you can feel heard during “Let’s Talk About” conversations, which help with issues like promoting social justice. Open offices are a thing too. |
| 7 |  | ZipRecruiter | HR Technology | Santa Monica, CA | 1,400 | No surprise that a recruiter would be good at keeping its own folks happy. New hires, for example, can speak directly with the CEO through their Donuts With Ian (Siegel) program. Yum. |
| 8 |  | ChenMed | Health Care | Miami Gardens, FL | 5,292 | Big on diversity, ChenMed has developed programs to celebrate Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian-American Pacific Islander Month, Hispanic Heritage Month and Juneteenth. |
| 9 |  | Zapier | Technology | San Francisco, CA | 735 | Zapier was supporting remote work before remote work became a thing. Transparency is a key value, with salary ranges for positions published for all to see. So is career development: Employees are matched with the right jobs via programs which offer specific curriculum and pathways. |
| 10 |  | Gympass | Wellness | New York, NY | 1,618 | Collaboration is a big thing here. (Employee compensation is based on overall company success.) Career development is a big deal too: Promotion opportunities are offered first to employees before outsiders. |
| 11 |  | Wyndham Hotels & Resorts | Hospitality | Parsippany, NJ | 4,158 | The company’s hospitality culture is ingrained in employees throughout the career life cycle. The “Count on Me” mantra: responsiveness, respect and delivering great experiences. |
| 12 |  | BARK | Consumer Goods | New York, NY | 620 | BARK employees can enjoy a dog-friendly office environment. Yup, they’re obsessed with their dogs in New York City. Free health care for their canine friends? Of course there is. Woof. |
| 13 |  | Ansys | Software | Canonsburg, PA | 5,428 | Inclusion is front and center. Affinity groups include the Black Employee Network, (dis)Ability Connection, Latino Connection, Pride Alliance, Veterans at Ansys and Women in Tech. |
| 14 |  | O2E Brands | Consumer Services | Vancouver, BC, and Garland, TX | 696 | The 1-800-GOT-JUNK? company’s values are “Passion, Integrity, Professionalism, Empathy.” Also, founder Brian Scudamore teaches his “Willing to Fail” (WTF) philosophy directly to employees. |
| 15 |  | Total Quality Logistics | Transportation | Cincinnati, OH | 10,000+ | Total Quality Logistics not only gives back to employees—there are no commission caps—but gives back to the community too, via Moves That Matter, Cancer Awareness Month and Military Month. |
| 16 |  | Automation Anywhere | Robotics | San Jose, CA | 1,774 | A question—“Who or what makes you proud to work here?”—is how each biweekly town hall meeting starts. Also, there’s a forgiving culture. Mistakes are OK, they say, if you learn from them. |
| 17 |  | Jack Henry | Financial Services | Monett, MO | 6,895 | Jack Henry likes a lot of feedback. The company continually gathers information from workers via things like “skip-a-level” interviews, which are designed to get direct feedback from employees. |
| 18 |  | ZoomInfo | Computer Software | Vancouver, WA | 3,503 | A “mind and body” kind of workplace. There’s training and external coaching for the high potentials. Then there’s a holistic mind, body and lifestyle program. Remote work? Yes. Restricted stock? Yes, again. |
| 19 |  | Southern Veterinary Partners | Health Care | Homewood, AL | 7,500 | The skinny: a focus on happy teammates, happy clients and happy pets. The chief executive makes weekly hospital visits—there are more than 300—where he addresses workers by their first names. |
| 20 |  | A+E Networks | Entertainment | New York, NY | 1,500 | The NYC-based media and entertainment company likes input from its workforce—especially through town halls and coffee chats. Execs gather feedback and report back to employees with any results. |
| 21 |  | Schrödinger | Pharmaceuticals | New York, NY | 592 | Work/life balance is a big deal here. So are collaboration and other kinds of input. LiveDesign is their proprietary digital platform for bringing together great minds from around the world. |
| 22 |  | Harsco | Environmental Services | Philadelphia, PA | 12,000 | Impact and Service Awards programs recognize outstanding performance. Employees, through various means of feedback, also make sure teamwork and inclusion are high priorities. |
| 23 |  | Exabeam | Software | Foster City, CA | 612 | When there’s something to celebrate at Exabeam, everyone celebrates: Pride, Diwali, Halloween…whatever. If you work there, you also get several “Thank You Days” off a year to relax. |
| 24 |  | Moveworks | Software | Mountain View, CA | 550+ | The four founders use anonymous surveys and team building to make sure the staff feels heard, respected and supported at all levels. Micromanagement is actively discouraged. |
| 25 |  | Vertex Pharmaceuticals | Pharmaceuticals | Boston MA | 4,254 | At the company’s annual innovation tournament, employees serve up ideas often incorporated into business decisions. Also, Career Hub and Gig Opportunities portals are the places for career advancement. |
| 26 |  | Southeastern Grocers | Retail/Supermarkets | Jacksonville, FL | 37,000 | Lots of support at the Winn-Dixie parent via training development programs like SEG University. The “MyWellness” platform focuses on issues like financial, career, social and community well-being. |
| 27 |  | EQRx | Pharmaceuticals | Cambridge, MA | 339 | Employees are asked, “If you could think of one object that tells us more about who you are…what would that be?” That’s one way execs focus on, and encourage, individuality and diversity. |
| 28 |  | KnowBe4 | Software | Clearwater, FL | 1,600 | Train up: Bonuses go to staff who earn certificates for working on skills like internal career coaching. Fun, fun, fun: A “shenanigans” team entertains through activities like mechanical bull riding. |
| 29 |  | Pure Storage | Technology | Mountain View, CA | 4,200 | Leadership development and upskilling of employees are an obsession here. Career progression? Workers at this tech firm get exposed to other jobs so they’re ready for the next big step. |
| 30 |  | Microchip Technology | Electronics | Chandler, AZ | 21,684 | Practicing what they preach: The firm recently made its board more diverse, provided mentoring to the underrepresented, and promoted candidates from diverse backgrounds. |
| 31 |  | Automattic | Media | San Francisco, CA | 2,040 | The company that created WordPress is feedback-crazy. Employees share their views with the whole company via monthly town halls, “Ask Me Anything” sessions and anonymous HR chats. |
| 32 |  | DigitalOcean | Technology | New York, NY | 865 | “Speak up when we have something to say and listen when others do” is a core part of the culture. Annual hackathons drive innovation; remote teams, worldwide, come together to develop new ideas. |
| 33 |  | Sweetgreen | Restaurants | Los Angeles, CA | 5,817 | Daily “Sweettalks” ensure two-way communication and help make sure that the business is running smoothly. Promotions? Employees are provided a clear path to management in a short time frame. |
| 34 |  | EPAM | Software | Newtown, PA | 61,000+ | Management respect comes from the “Heroes” program, which recognizes hardworking employees and their significant milestones. Open door: A global “Upload Hackathon” invites new ideas. |
| 35 |  | Horizon Therapeutics | Pharmaceuticals | Deerfield, IL | 1,796 | This medicine developer makes inclusion a part of everyday life: A “RiSE Day of Understanding” promotes all forms of diversity. Also, employees say that “they are comfortable voicing their ideas.” |
| 36 |  | Bank Independent | Financial Services | Sheffield, AL | 634 | Employees become “wildcards.” Those are nonexperts that provide another perspective to expert teams. Volunteerism is important too. Employees take part in financial literacy programs in Michigan. |
| 37 |  | Thryv | Software | Dallas, TX | 2,400 | The modern world: This small-business tech firm is a “Work From Anywhere” company—Zoom meetings, monthly webcasts and various forms of remote communication make it all work. |
| 38 |  | LendingClub | Financial Services | San Francisco, CA | 1,603 | The company lives its ethics/values mantra of respecting its employees and giving back. There’s a paid volunteer program; donation matching lets workers give to their own charitable causes. |
| 39 |  | Kaplan | Education | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 4,850 | The firm, known for its test-prep business, helps employees beef up their skills for the future through the month-long DevelopU program, in which individual development plans are conjured up. |
| 40 |  | First Watch | Restaurants | Bradenton, FL | 10,000 | How are you feeling? A web-based application measures employee happiness; a five-question feedback tool asks workers to share experiences about the previous week to encourage change. |
| 41 |  | Bunge | Food Production | Chesterfield, MO | 23,000 | Bunge’s 23,000 employees come by professional development opportunities through old-school, formal classroom learning and self-paced training with 1,000+ online programs. |
| 42 |  | Zebra Technologies | Technology | Lincolnshire, IL | 9,800 | The company is big, it says, on recruiting and nurturing talent from diverse backgrounds. How else to gain new insights? Plus: rewards via the “Go the Extra Mile” program. |
| 43 |  | Paramount | Entertainment | New York, NY | 22,965 | Programs like the “Pipeline Challenge’’ allow employees to work directly with charities on pro bono work supported by the company. A big plus? It can provide exposure to senior leaders. |
| 44 |  | LivePerson | Software | New York, NY | 1,600 | Lots of one-on-one meetings with management help staff grow professionally. Workers can also dole out feedback at the company roundtables. Meetings with diverse groups are a big deal too. |
| 45 |  | Strava | Software | San Francisco, CA | 411 | Employees are encouraged to unleash their creative talents through “hackathons” and such. Stipends for great ideas also get the juices flowing. Like Q&As with execs? This might be the place for you. |
| 46 |  | Altair | Technology | Troy, MI | 3,054 | The tech firm uses the Altair Black Employee Resource Network to beef up its Black employee and executive ranks. The Altair Women in Technology program helps develop and retain women in tech. |
| 47 |  | Arvest Bank | Financial Services | Fayetteville, AR | 6,627 | Owned by the Walmart founding family, the company is investing in remote work by, among other things, providing stipends to employees to set up their home offices. |
| 48 |  | Sedgwick | Insurance | Memphis, TN | 30,558 | Inclusion indeed: Some 70 percent of its employees are female; almost 40 percent are people of color. Sedgwick promotes inclusion and equity through education on unconscious bias and communication styles. |
| 49 |  | Palo Alto Networks | Software | Santa Clara, CA | 11,000 | The company gives employees a lot of choice, from the ability to determine their own career paths to taking advantage of continuing education opportunities. Plus: regular roundtables with the CEO. |
| 50 |  | Kellogg's | Food Production | Battle Creek, MI | 11,037 | Workers looking for an employer that does well by doing good can sign up here. Kellogg’s “Better Days” plan’s goal: supporting farmers to end hunger by nourishing 1 billion people. |
METHODOLOGY
Newsweek's ranking of the 2022 Most Loved Workplaces pays tribute to companies that put respect, caring and appreciation for their employees at the center of their business model and, in doing so, have earned the loyalty and respect of the people who work for them.
The list was created in partnership with Best Practice Institute (BPI), a benchmark research company that studies and identifies the specific management practices that lead to employee motivation and satisfaction and has documented the strong link between worker satisfaction and productivity and performance. BPI measures five basic areas to determine how employees feel about where they work to create the Most Loved Workplaces list: the level of collaboration at the firm; how positive workers are about their future at the company; how much employer values align with employee values; respect at all levels and career achievement. Working in consultation with Newsweek editors, BPI also gave consideration to return-to-office policies, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and other workplace and talent development initiatives.
Altogether, more than 1.4 million employees were surveyed at companies ranging in size from 50 employees to more than 10,000. Additionally, several hundred company officials were interviewed.
To identify the top 100 companies for the Newsweek ranking, companies were evaluated and scored as follows: 35 percent of the initial score was based on responses to BPI's proprietary Love of Workplace survey. Another 25 percent was derived from analysis of external public ratings from sites such as Comparably, Careerbliss, Glassdoor, Indeed and Google. The final 40 percent came from direct interviews with and written responses from company officials. Newsweek then conducted additional research into every company on the list, as well as the top runners-up, to determine the final list of 100 companies and their rankings. (The list includes both U.S. firms and companies with a strong U.S. presence that are based overseas.)
The rankings combine quantitative and qualitative analysis that was developed by BPI in partnership with The School of International and Public Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh and featured in the book In Great Company (McGraw-Hill, 2019) by BPI, and Most Loved Workplace founder Louis Carter.
To find out more about becoming a certified Most Loved Workplace, or to apply for next year's list, go to mostlovedworkplace.com.