Meaningful Work and Flexibility Distinguish the Fortune Best Workplaces for Parents

At winning companies, 90% of parents reporting looking forward to coming to work and 91% say they want to stay at their company long-term.

Dec. 03, 2024 (Oakland, Calif.) — The company you work for makes an enormous difference for many working parents.

With the U.S. Surgeon General issuing an advisory on well-being for working parents, employers that invest in support for their parents can seize a competitive advantage in fight for top talent.

Great Place To Work? analyzed the survey responses of over 635,000 employees with parenting responsibilities who work for Great Place To Work Certified? companies. For companies offering a better experience, there are clear benefits.

At the Fortune Best Workplaces for Parents?, 50% more parents report that management involves them in decisions compared with a typical U.S. workplace.

When working parents said that they felt involved in decisions that affect them, they were:

20% more likely to report psychological well-being

30% more likely to report adapting quickly to change

The key relationship that determines if employees feel they have a voice in decision making often comes down to their direct manager.

“What makes the biggest difference for working parents is if they feel their people manager wants them to succeed at work and at home,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO at Great Place To Work. “Do you have a people leader who cares and listens, or are you powerless to change your experience, unable to set healthy boundaries or pursue personal goals?”

Working parents at winning workplaces are also more likely to say they have a healthy work-life balance and to say their work is meaningful. When parents said their work was meaningful, they were 26% more likely to give extra effort on the job.

“When parents feel their people leader and company cares, they give more effort and your business reaps the benefits,” says Bush. “Giving parents a sense of control over their work environment unlocks their creativity and passion.”

Who made the list

Here are the top five large companies (1,000 or more employees):

Cisco

NVIDIA

Hilton

Bain & Company

American Express

Here are the top five small companies (10-999 employees):

WestPac Wealth Partners

IntraFi LLC

Braze

Mercury

Greenhouse

Learn what tactics these companies use to create a winning workplace culture where parents thrive.

Images available: 2024 Parents List

About the 2024 Fortune Best Workplaces for Parents

Great Place To Work selected the 2024 Fortune Best Workplaces for Parents by analyzing the survey responses of over 635,000 employees with parenting responsibilities at Great Place To Work Certified companies that also met the criteria for this list. To be eligible, a company must submit at least 50 responses from U.S. employees with parenting responsibilities. Company rankings are derived from 60 employee experience questions within the Great Place To Work Trust Index? Survey as well as data around parental leave, adoption, flexible schedules, childcare, and dependent health care benefits. Great Place To Work determines its lists using its proprietary For All Methodology to evaluate and certify thousands of organizations in America’s largest ongoing annual workforce study, based on over 1.3 million survey responses and data from companies representing more than 8.2 million employees this year alone. Read the full methodology.

To get on this list next year, start here.

About Great Place To Work

As the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place To Work brings 30 years of groundbreaking research and data to help every place become a great place to work for all. Its proprietary platform and Great Place To Work Model help companies evaluate the experience of every employee, with exemplary workplaces becoming Great Place To Work Certified and receiving recognition on a coveted Best Workplaces list.

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About Fortune

Fortune upholds a legacy of award-winning writing and trusted reporting for executives who want to make business better. Independently owned, with a global perspective and digital agility, Fortune tells the stories of a new generation of innovators, builders, and risk takers. Online and in print, Fortune measures corporate performance through rigorous benchmarks and holds companies accountable. Fortune creates communities by convening true thought leaders and iconoclasts — those who shape industry, commerce, and society — through powerful and prestigious lists, events, and conferences, such as the iconic Fortune 500, the CEO Initiative, and Most Powerful Women. For more information, visit fortune.com.

Contact: Kim Peters: (415) 844-2574, kpeters@greatplacetowork.com