What does work wellbeing have to do with business success? Everything, pretty much.
Business Insider
Since 2019, Indeed has partnered with leading experts at the University of Oxford to collect data on how employees feel at work, resulting in defined criteria for measuring work wellbeing: happiness, purpose, stress, and satisfaction.
Additionally, Indeed measures what influences wellbeing, including foundational, social, and growth needs. Wellbeing data collection spans 19 countries and is publicly available on company pages in the US, Canada, and the UK, where Indeed’s Work Wellbeing Score has launched.
Building upon this massive dataset — the world’s largest study of work wellbeing — Indeed has collaborated with the University of Oxford to create The Work Wellbeing 100, an index of the top 100 publicly traded companies ranked by the Work Wellbeing Score. These companies consistently outperformed leading stock indices, including the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Russell 3000, showing that prioritizing wellbeing benefits people and business.
Top employers revealed by new Work Wellbeing 100
A new index of the top 100 publicly-traded companies in the US, powered by Oxford research, has been published by Indeed.
The 2024 Work Wellbeing 100 draws upon insights from the world’s largest study of workplace wellbeing, undertaken by global job matching and hiring platform Indeed alongside the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford.
Work wellbeing – or how employees feel at work – is a critical factor for job seekers when deciding where to work, and plays a significant role for employers hoping to attract, hire and retain top talent.
Oxford researchers previously found that Indeed’s work wellbeing data shows a compelling correlation: higher work wellbeing leads to improved valuation, higher return on assets, and greater profits underscoring that employee satisfaction can serve as a predictor of a company’s business and financial success.
The top 10 companies on Indeed’s 2024 Work Wellbeing 100 are:
H&R Block
Delta Air Lines
L3Harris
Accenture
NIKE
Tradesmen International
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
Addus HomeCare
IBM
Amazon Flex
“The employers on Indeed’s Work Wellbeing 100 list are setting an example and leading the way in creating thriving work environments,” said LaFawn Davis, Indeed’s Chief People and Sustainability Officer. “While work wellbeing has faced challenges in recent years, it’s more important than ever for companies to create environments where employees can truly thrive. By prioritizing work wellbeing, companies cultivate a more resilient, effective and happier workforce which ultimately drives business growth.”
The recognised companies represent a variety of industries across the US, ranging from healthcare to retail, to manufacturing, hospitality and tech. The retail and transportation industries are well represented on this list, with 23 and 14 companies respectively, showcasing the commitment to wellbeing. Regardless of their industry, employers on this list stand out for offering robust career growth opportunities and a commitment to flexible work options.
“Research consistently shows that how we feel at work matters.”
“Research consistently shows that how we feel at work matters. It deeply impacts our general wellbeing as well as company financial performance,” said Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Professor of Economics at Saïd Business School and Director of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. “For employers, the wellbeing of their workforce cannot be underestimated as our research shows that those who prioritize wellbeing reap the rewards of higher productivity and improved employee retention and attraction. This is something we’ve now shown to be the case in both hard financial metrics as well as stock market performance.”
The companies on the Indeed Work Wellbeing 100 were determined based on employee feedback shared by US employees on Indeed across the four key wellbeing indicators between January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023. To qualify, companies in the US must be a publicly-traded company on the NASDAQ or NYSE and have received at least 100 responses for work wellbeing indicators in the past year (Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2023).
Beyond the obvious, here are the business benefits of investing in employee wellbeing
Business Insider
Oxford recently analyzed Indeed’s work wellbeing dataset and highlighted a strong correlation between company wellbeing and business performance. The findings featured in the 2024 Global Work Wellbeing Report reveal that higher levels of employee wellbeing are associated with improved firm valuation, return on assets, and gross profits. Moreover, companies with higher levels of employee wellbeing collectively outperformed the stock market.
The Indeed-Oxford research also looked into whether happier employees today means better business results later. Based on data from before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings show that companies with happier workers before COVID-19 performed better afterward in all three performance indicators (valuation, return on assets, and gross profits).
Moreover, the Indeed-Oxford research reveals the long-term business benefits of prioritizing employee wellbeing. Indeed further strengthened the business case for work wellbeing with the launch of the Work Wellbeing 100, an index ranking the top 100 publicly traded companies by their Indeed Work Wellbeing Score.
Indeed Introduces the 2024 Work Wellbeing 100, Ranking the Top Publicly-Traded Companies for Work Wellbeing in the U.S.
Business Wire
“Research consistently shows that how we feel at work matters. It deeply impacts our general wellbeing as well as company financial performance,” said Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Professor of Economics at Saïd Business School and Director of the Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford University. “For employers, the wellbeing of their workforce cannot be underestimated as our research shows that those who prioritize wellbeing reap the rewards of higher productivity and improved employee retention and attraction. This is something we’ve now shown to be the case in both hard financial metrics as well as stock market performance.”
Indeed Introduces the 2024 Work Wellbeing 100, Ranking the Top Publicly-Traded Companies for Work Wellbeing in the U.S.
Yahoo Finance
Fueled by the world’s largest study of work wellbeing and in partnership with the University of Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, Indeed’s Work Wellbeing 100 reveals that public companies with higher work wellbeing outperform the market. These recognized companies prove wellbeing is not just better for people, but better for business.
Companies that ‘prioritize work flexibility’ have the happiest workers, new ranking shows
CNBC
H&R Block can now claim it offers the happiest and most stress-free workplace around.
The tax preparation company came in No. 1 for employee wellbeing, according to the 2024 Work Wellbeing 100 from Indeed and the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre.
The index ranks the top 100 publicly traded U.S. companies where employees reported high levels of happiness, purpose, satisfaction, and low stress when prompted to take a survey while leaving a review of their employer on Indeed. And those high marks could be driving better business performance.
IIM Ahmedabad, Ranchi, Harvard and others offer courses on happiness: Do you know why?
The Times of India
Happiness plays a vital role in enhancing productivity. Research consistently shows that when individuals are happier, they are more engaged, energized, and effective in their work. Research conducted by Oxford University has underscored the critical connection between happiness and productivity in the workplace.
[…]
The findings indicate that happy workers are more efficient during their working hours, though they do not necessarily work longer hours.
Map Shows Happiest Age Group in America
Newsweek
Professor De Neve added that while the report itself does not hypothesize on why youth life satisfaction is declining so rapidly in the U.S, there are many theories as to why this is occurring.
He said youth life satisfaction is usually linked to life expectations. Countries such as Lithuania and Serbia which have some of the highest youth happiness in the world, also have a youth population experiencing more optimism for the future than their parents.
American youth, on the other hand, are experiencing an increase in the cost of education, fears around the labor market, and a rise in isolation and loneliness.
I live in Lithuania, the happiest place on earth for under 30s. As a very happy 28-year-old, here’s what it’s like.
Business Insider
Recently, Lithuania topped the World Happiness Report ranking for under 30s, with the country’s young people rating themselves 7.76 out of 10 on the happiness scale. I completely understand why, especially as a young person living in Vilnius.
To Anthony Rendon, happiness is serious business
Capitol Weekly
A new California Assembly committee is exploring the reasons why some people are happier with their lives than others. Headed by former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), the Select Committee on Happiness and Public Policy Outcomes has had two hearings this year.
“We don’t take happiness seriously,” Rendon said. “We think of happiness as some frivolous, silly thing but it’s really the only thing that matters.”
[…]
“This is an area where California and the United States are very, very far behind the rest of the world at looking at this issue.”
