What Makes the Happiest Employees? Tips From 9 top Companies.

February 9, 2022. Focusing on employee well being is always valuable, whether a business is just starting out, growing rapidly, or has already reached scale. What sets a positive workplaces apart? Is it just fun activities and tasty snacks, or is there more? What makes for truly happy employees?

Comparably’s annual happiest employees list shows true happiness comes from work-life balance, meaningful perks, and clear goals. Fair pay. A good benefits package. Excitement for the company’s mission. These are essential; fun perks like outings and snacks matter too, but they build on these fundamentals instead of standing on their own.

Ready to bring more joy to your workplace? Here are nine companies to learn a thing or two from when it comes to employee satisfaction.

HubSpot: Where Employee Happiness Drives the Business

A customer relationship management platform for businesses, HubSpot is no slouch when it comes to making their own employees happy first and foremost. The Cambridge-based company offers benefits such as unlimited PTO, parental leave, and tuition reimbursement. An employee notes, “Unlimited time off here is not a hiring gimmick. People take the time they need to recharge, and leadership trusts the employees to do that.” This trust contributes to HubSpot’s top ranking for not only employee happiness, but also for work-life balance.

Adobe: Employees are Happy to Embrace a Meaningful Mission

Adobe, a leader in digital media and marketing design software, is guided by its mission to “change the world through digital experiences.” This mission fosters a culture where employees feel confident and aligned with the company’s goals—which, in turn, makes them happier employees. An employee shares, “[There’s an] amazing vision for the company…I have confidence every day I step into work.” Reflecting on your organization’s mission can be equally impactful. When was the last time you revisited or openly discussed your company’s mission and progress toward it?

Microsoft: Happy Employees are Challenged Intellectually

Microsoft doesn’t just offer the standard perks you’d expect from a tech giant—it challenges its employees with innovative projects that make a tangible impact. That’s a bigger driver for why the Microsoft workforce is so happy. One employee states, “I love getting to solve technically complex issues for our customers and helping to make the world turn every day.” Challenging work that leads to real-world results boosts pride and happiness.

Chegg: Generous Time off Makes People Happy

This digital student services hub emphasizes time off with unlimited PTO, summer Fridays, and extended holiday breaks. An employee mentions, “They just gave us the whole Thanksgiving week off. I feel pampered.” Generous time-off policies enhance work-life balance and employee contentment.

ZipRecuiter: Happy Employees Thrive Together

Known for its collaborative culture, ZipRecruiter encourages cross-team promotion and shared recognition. An employee notes, “There is so much cross-promotion across teams. We all have to collaborate with one another, and there is no fight for recognition or credit. It’s truly all collaborative teamwork.” Such teamwork fosters a strong sense of community.

Google: Flexible Workspaces Make Every Kind of Employee Happy

No surprise that a company with as many resources as Google have thought of the best ways to keep their employees happy. What can we learn? The search giant builds its state-of-the-art office spaces to host multiple kinds of environments for people to focus, collaborate, host a presentation, enjoy a meal, and take a short break from it all. According to one employee, “If you don’t want to work from your desk, work from a couch, a stool, a coffee bar, a cafe booth, outside, wherever makes [you] comfortable. The enablement is unparalleled.” This flexibility in the workplace experience gives everyone the means to be happy.

Medallia: Coaching Employees

Specializing in customer and employee experience software, Medallia boasts their own extremely happy workforce through a variety of benefits, including a robust coaching and professional development program. The San Francisco-based company offers a range of services based on the employees’ current skills and expertise, including mentorship programs, customized development tracks, job training and conferences, and tuition reimbursement. Plus, the company has a stated desire to promote from within. An employee shared, “I never feel like I will not succeed. Success is constantly set up for me.” Supportive environments set employees up for success—and there’s no faster path to happiness than having the means to be successful.

Elsevier

Elsevier, a publisher in New York, shows that who you work with is often as important as what you’re working on. One employee said, “All people are open-minded and looking forward to [finding] the best solutions, without losing the focus on work-life balance.” When everyone is on the same page, it’s a pleasure to go to work.

Farmer’s Insurance

Insurance companies don’t make as many headlines as the sexier darlings of Silicon Valley, but Farmer’s is doing just fine in its employees’ eyes. Like Google, the trust allowed each employee is a big reason for this. One employee said, “I am very happy with the autonomy I am given as well as the new challenges each day.” 

Top takeaways for what makes happy employees

In analyzing the many great companies on Comparably’s 2021 list of happiest employees, there were some clear trends that you can use as inspiration for your own workplace. 

First of all, every company on this list takes time off seriously. In a world where burnout is a common factor in job dissatisfaction, showing your employees that you respect their right to a healthy work-life balance will lessen their stress and lighten their load.

Many of the employees surveyed also noted that they were happy when they could see tangible results from their work. Whether that’s the health effects of a Peloton bike or a software that helps a company like Peloton get their products in more people’s hands, being able to draw a line between work and real results is important.

Also, setting your employees up for success is a winning technique for long-term satisfaction. When they can see that you’re working just as hard to create the right conditions for them to flourish as they are, they’ll be able to look confidently toward their future at the company.

Lastly, we couldn’t help but notice that 70% of the companies mentioned in this article have Bevi machines! Dare we say smart water coolers and flavored and sparkling water are a big contributing factor to employee happiness and satisfaction?

What are your thoughts on what makes the happiest employees? We’d love to hear from you on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn!