Jobs & Money Detail
Hi-ho, it’s off to work we go
While America likes to ‘supersize’ everything, Fortune magazine has shown that bigger isn’t always better when it comes to employee contentment, writes Patricia Curmi
Its annual 100 Best Companies to Work for league table has ranked American-based companies on employer satisfaction, minority employment, salaries and the number of women employees. Eight of the top ten ranking companies were mid-sized or small, and the overall number one is the biotechnology company, Genetech, based in south San Francisco with around 8,000 employees.
Wages there averaged between $47,800 (£27,300) and $69,400 (£39,600), and the fact that 95 per cent of the workers there are shareholders in the roughly $4 million annual turnover probably helps to make the daily grind a bit more bearable.
Good working atmosphere, bonuses and some unusual perks like free nail and hair grooming are just some of the reasons the other companies made it into the league table. Florida laid claim to four companies in the top 60. The 100 per cent employee-owned chain store Publix supermarkets with 129,400 employees in the state came in at 56th, while the much smaller auto retailers JM Family Enterprises based in Deerfield Beach, with 4,000 workers, bagged 40th place.
The two other companies that fared well with employees were Baptist Healthcare (in 18th place) and Baptist Health South Florida (59th), which employ around 14,000 people between them. Notably absent from the list for Florida is the Walt Disney Co, which employs around 58,600 workers in the Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Volusia and Brevard counties.
In Illinois, the electronics and office equipment wholesaler, CDW, managed to win its 3,900 employees approval with average salaries ranging from $36,000 (£20,500) – $47,000 (£26,800) and gained 34th in the Fortune list.
For long-term employment, Chicago's Wm. Wrigley Jr, the chewing gum manufacturer,is a good option: over a third of workers there have been with the company for over 15 years, and the bubble has yet to burst in terms of profit, with a recorded annual turnover of $3.6 billion. Texas produced ten entrants into the list, one of which, Container Store, came in at number six.
In 2004 a driver for the specialty retail company received a $5,000 (£2,800) bonus for ten years of perfect driving. Giving scholarships to employees' children and a solid rate of in-house promotion meant Houston-based Men's Wearhouse ranked 92nd.
California was represented by an impressive 16 companies, the majority of which employed less than 8,000 people. The Internet prodigy, Yahoo, got 73rd place, and appears keen to make the workplace fun with onsite amenities including massage, haircuts, dentistry, car wash, oil change, foosball, free lattés, and stock options for all employees. The average wage for senior technical staff is in the $117,200 (£67,000) region, while lower down the scale, customer care agents still earn around $34,700 (£19,800) a year. Another technology company, Cisco Systems, came in 25th place, with most of the 26,600 employees happy with the high salaries and the fact that CEO John Chambers manages to keep in regular contact with workers via breakfast meetings with newly hired workers.
New York and New Jersey had mainly financial and legal companies rated as the best companies to work for. Securities giant Goldman Sachs (26th) tempts skilled workers from all over the world with an unusually extensive onsite medical centre which provides for its roughly 11,000 employees and their families.
Russell Investment Group, based in Tacoma, Washington, was ranked by Fortune as the best-paying company in the United States for salaried workers, with an average wage of $574,300 (£327,700), but proving that money can't always buy happiness, it came in 63rd for employer satisfaction.
The legal firm Morrison & Foerster was rated as the best for hourly paid workers. The San Francisco company offered its legal secretaries an average wage of $67,800 (£38,700). And for those who like to kick back, the 11,000 employees of Amgen, the Californian pharmaceuticals company, take 16 paid holidays a year, double the national average.
To see the full list, click here
Register for your FREE emigration starter pack
Subscribe to Emigrate America newspaper. Read more ...