Top Places to Work in Massachusetts Reveals a Glimmer of Positivity Amid a Turbulent Year
The job market has felt bleak for many lately. Federal workers faced layoffs or furloughs, and employers wrestled with AI-driven uncertainties. Layoffs reached a 22-year high, while hiring slowed to a 14-year low. Against this backdrop, the language around work grew increasingly grim, with terms like job hugging, conscious unbossing, and quiet firing making headlines—and sparking debate about the evolving workplace culture.
Yet, the 175 Massachusetts-based companies that earned a spot on The Boston Globe’s Top Places to Work list tell a different story. They highlight generous benefits and cultures that emphasize gratitude, team spirit, and enjoyment at work. Examples include month-long paid sabbaticals, fertility benefits, and company-sponsored outdoor experiences such as skiing and fishing trips. Some employers go even further: Sunrise Erectors operates free on-site day care, ScrubaDub Auto Wash Centers offers free financial coaching, and Gupta Media along with D.A. Sullivan & Sons showcase in-office golf simulators.
Is there a common thread here? A visible pattern of generosity, appreciation, and fun that counterbalances the broader concerns about job security and routine stress.
Energage, the employee-survey firm based in Exton, Pennsylvania, collected responses from more than 120,000 workers across 314 Massachusetts organizations for this year’s Top Places to Work rankings. Employees were asked to rate leadership, company values, training, benefits, and other metrics. The results are categorized into four size brackets based on invited participants: small (50–99 employees), large small-to-mid (100–249), large (250–999), and largest (1,000+). To qualify, an employer must have at least 50 Massachusetts employees.
Real estate stands out as a particularly happy sector this year, with all four No. 1 spots occupied by real-estate-related companies, including three brokerages. The appeal makes sense: flexible roles, no college degree prerequisite, and a recovering housing market that creates opportunities for well-being and earnings as more people find homes.
One winner’s founder, LAER Realty Partners, goes the extra mile by sending Thanksgiving emails that name all 800+ agents and explicitly acknowledge each person’s value to the team. A concrete example of leadership that prioritizes recognition.
Winning companies aren’t stopping at kudos. They’re implementing structural changes—revisiting performance reviews to be more constructive and less dreaded, and offering business etiquette sessions to help newer, remote hires gain confidence in professional interactions and appropriate workplace dress.
Bottom line: there is indeed good news in the employment landscape. To many, the right employer can make work feel rewarding, supportive, and genuinely enjoyable.
Explore the winners by company size and access additional details:
- Top largest companies (1,000+ employees)
- Top large companies (250–999 employees)
- Top medium-size companies (100–249 employees)
- Top small companies (50–99 employees)
- Read the full special issue
To participate in the 2026 Top Places to Work Survey, visit BostonGlobe.com/nominate.
Katie Johnston can be reached at katie.johnston@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @ktkjohnston.
