Top Workplaces 2025: How the winners were selected

"Hybrid and remote work weren't just pandemic solutions. They've become foundational to how people work. In fact, many employees actively seek out flexible work arrangements, and businesses that offer them are seeing stronger retention and higher productivity. Our annual Top Workplaces report spotlights the rise of remote and hybrid work. We examine how the most effective workplaces support remote workers and make in-office days productive and purposeful."

"How did we select the top workplaces? The Tribune partnered with Energage of Exton, Pennsylvania, a workplace survey and improvement specialist, which surveyed nominated Chicago-area employers with at least 75 employees. The Tribune did not pay Energage, and organizations did not pay any fees to have their employees surveyed or to win a Top Workplaces designation. The Tribune used news coverage as well as advertising to seek nominations."

"In total, 8,108 organizations were asked to survey their employees, and 236 agreed to do so. Energage used a 26-question survey that asks employees for feedback on factors such as pay and benefits, direction, leadership, meaningfulness and appreciation. Energage scored companies based on the responses. Employers earn Top Workplaces recognition if their aggregated employees' feedback score exceeds national benchmarks. Energage has established those benchmarks based on feedback from about 30 million employees over"

Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers continue to work from home part-time, making hybrid and remote models enduring features of employment. Employees increasingly seek flexible arrangements, and companies that offer flexibility report stronger retention and higher productivity. Organizations are refining hybrid approaches to support remote staff and ensure in-office days are productive and purposeful. Flexible work is not feasible in all sectors, with construction, manufacturing and health care requiring on-site presence. A selection process using Energage's 26-question employee survey evaluated factors like pay, leadership and meaningfulness; employers meeting benchmarks based on about 30 million responses earn Top Workplaces recognition.

Read at Chicago Tribune