Best Companies to Work for in the US – Top Employers & Their Benefits

Think you have it good at your job? You might, but maybe not as good as some of these employees have it. (Then again, even having a job in this economy can be considered good – but I digress.) Fortune Magazine has released their annual Top 100 Employers To Work For List for 2010, and some of the companies on the list may surprise you (they did me, for sure). I remember back when I worked in the movie business and worked at Universal Studios in California, we were near the top of this list because of the solid perks, pay, and job security we had. Things have certainly changed due to different industries taking off and others faltering, but if you have a job at one of these Top 100 you probably have it pretty good right about now. So what kinds of things can put a company on this list? Let’s take a look at some of the perks that companies can provide which certainly help:

• Paid healthcare for your family. I miss this one, for sure! Having a company pay for the majority of your health insurance takes a big burden off your shoulders.
• On-site childcare center. Many families are dual-income earners, so they need childcare during the day. Being able to bring your kids with you to your place of work and visit them during the day can go a long way to making your time away from them more manageable.
• Encouragement of a work/life balance. If you work for a company that actually tells you to “go home you are working too much”, you are in a good place.
• Telecommuting is allowed. This would be a biggie for me, if I were to ever go back to a corporate day job. I cannot imagine myself having to commute to my job again!
• Fully paid sabbaticals. A friend of mine gets a full month off paid for every 5 years he works at the company, which is in addition to his month of paid vacation he now gets each year.
• Extra perks like gym memberships, referral bonuses, home-buying assistance, tuition reimbursement, same-sex partner benefits. These are a few of the things that made Universal Studios such a great place to work back in the 90’s. (Sadly, they are no longer on the list)

Sometimes, good perks make up for any bad stuff that may come alone with reporting to work every day. Here is the Top 10 companies from the full list of 100, and while I always knew Google was a great place to work, who knew Edward Jones or Qualcomm was? Seems some of the best companies to work for are often never mentioned in the same breath as Google when discussing the major perks, but that’s where lists like this come in handy – they can give you a new place to start looking for a job that you may not have thought of before!

1. SAS
2. Edward Jones
3. Wegmans Food Markets
4. Google
5. Nugget Market
6. DreamWorks Animation SKG
7. NetApp
8. Boston Consulting Group
9. Qualcomm
10. Camden Property Trust

What about where you work? Do you have any of these kind of perks/bonuses at your day job? Where do you work? Would you leave your job for a company providing perks like these? Please let us know in the comments!