Last week, the Boston Globe released their annual “Top Places To Work in Massachusetts” list. On Friday, Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung stopped by the Boston Public Library to comment on the findings and discuss what makes for a positive work environment.
“I think we had almost 66,000 employees fill out the [anonymous] surveys. We had over 300 companies, and in the end we always pick about 125 employers and we rank them based on their size,” Leung said.
At the top of this year’s list of large sized companies was EF Education First, an international education company with offices in Cambridge. Second was marketing software company HubSpot, and third was workforce management software company Kronos.
When asked about what makes these companies special, Leung said that “employees feel cared for, they feel like their companies are investing in them — whether paying for training or paying for school.”
Specialized health benefits for women was also factor in the companies that ranked high on the list. "This year we had a piece about companies trying to expand beyond traditional benefits. … I think it was [biopharmaceutical company] Vertex that pays for nursing mothers to ship their breastmilk home when they’re traveling,” she said. "There’s [also] a lot of fertility treatment benefits, whether it's storage or paying for [in vitro fertilization]."
Leung also offered some words her own contribution to the Globe piece, focusing on what employees can offer to aid a positive work environment.
“Have good friendships at work. Go out of your way to meet new people at work, have coffee with them or lunch with them. Don’t stay in your same cliques,” she said.
“If you like who you work with, you’re happier — you’re more productive," she said.
