Pay, growth opportunities and work relationships among factors of the top happy workplaces.
If you’re looking for the happiest place to work in the U.S., you can start with Miami, Fla. That’s almost a no-brainer when you think about the environment, with its beaches and balmy weather.
But other factors are weighted in, as well, making cities that may not have Miami’s sex appeal still rank high on the happiness meter – Kansas City, Mo., Ann Arbor, Mich., and Baltimore, Md. among them.
A survey by CareerBliss, an online career community devoted to work and careers, recently released its 2016 list of the 20 Happiest Cities to Work in the U.S., and Miami.
Pay, though important, was stacked up against other, less tangible criteria. Among those that CareerBliss focused on as being key to workplace happiness – as rated by employees in company reviews: relationships with bosses and co-workers, the work environment, job resources and growth opportunities. The company culture and reputation also were factored in, as were jobs themselves and how much control employees have over their daily tasks.
Miami took the top spot for the second year in a row, its “growing technology scene alongside some of the world’s best beaches” putting it in position to become a major technology hub, according to Heidi Golledge, CEO of CareerBliss. She also noted that tech startups in the area created happy workplaces by virtue of good pay and cultures geared to retaining employees.
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Cities in more temperate climates such as Miami dominated the list. Among the others making it to the top 20 were five cities in California, where tech startups and entertainment dominate, and innovative people and cultures are encouraged through workplace practices and great pay.
But the New York/New Jersey region was also well represented with three cities – Buffalo, Brooklyn and Jersey City, ranking high on the list, and New York City hitting the 18th spot. In fact, Jersey City, just outside New York City, came in at No. 2, reflecting the stellar job it has done in creating an attractive environment as a headquarters city for such businesses as Goya Foods and Forbes Magazine.
The 20 Happiest Cities to Work are:
- Miami, Fla.
- Jersey City, N.J.
- Mountain View, Calif.
- Brooklyn, N.Y.
- San Jose, Calif.
- Redmond, Wash.
- Los Angeles, Calif.
- Arlington, Va.
- San Francisco, Calif.
- Buffalo, N.Y.
- Dallas, Texas
- San Diego, Calif.
- Baltimore, Md.
- Washington, D.C.
- Philadelphia, Pa.
- Nashville, Tenn.
- Boston, Mass.
- New York City, N.Y.
- Kansas City, Mo.
- Ann Arbor, Mich.
