A Bigger Company Doesn’t Guarantee a Better Working Experience

A friend was working for a multi-national corporation for the last 5 years. Over the last year she watched as her colleagues were let go one by one. Her workload increased, the gossip at the water cooler was disturbing about the company’s stock value, she had no voice in the office to ease the pain, and the workplace environment deteriorated.

An emotional wreck and physically exhausted, she was actually relieved to be laid off even though it posed a temporary monkey-wrench in her career. Her passing thought when she told me the story… no more big companies where she wouldn’t have a voice. Instead, she’ll focus her job hunt on companies better known for treating their employees well  - while keeping an eye on the bottom line. Signature components to what some define as a “Great Workplace.”  She’s onto something according to the Q2 Workplace Layoffs and Employment study by GreatPlaceJobs.

Here are some of the highlights:

•  The study shows that the nation’s largest companies conducted layoffs at a rate of almost twice that of a group of companies recognized as great workplaces.  
• Only 44% of excellent employers laid off workers from the beginning of 2008, while a shocking 86% of the Fortune 100 companies have laid off employees in the past year and a half. 
• The revenue growth rate at great workplace companies in Q1 2009 was 2.3% better than the rest of the Fortune 100, and the average stock price of the excellent employers was 1.1% higher as of June 30, 2009 (compared to January 1, 2009) than typical Fortune 100 companies.”

Perhaps the most galvanizing slice of information from this study was that “nine of the Fortune 100 largest companies from 2008 filed for bankruptcy or were bailed out by the U.S. government in 2008, while none of the great workplace companies failed on this magnitude.”

The bigger they are the harder they fall. But there are great workplaces that continue to be resilient in this economic climate while treating their employees well. A blatant fear of scarcity and the red on the spread sheets tosses many CFO’s into an understandable spiral. But it seems the progressive companies that take the time to create a better working experience are a head of the curve financially. Workplace flexibility, wellness programs and employee engagement morale boosters are still looked upon as band-aids if not spread throughout the rank and file. But if you check out the stats at GreatPlaceJobs, you’ll see such programs are really the launching pad for a more productive workforce.