Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For prize hybrid work

Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For is out this morning, and even if you aren’t looking for a new job, I would urge you to study it. Talent is the differentiator in today’s economy, and any company that wants to win ought to fight for a place on this list. (By the way, if you are looking for a job, these 100 companies have 207,761 positions open right now.)

When I joined Fortune a decade ago, companies like Google topped this list, and free food, nap pods, and volleyball pits were seen as the secret weapons. But today, it’s a different game. No. 1 on this year’s list is Hilton, which emphasizes diversity and career growth (as well as discounted stays at Hilton hotels). No. 2 is Cisco, which—as I wrote earlier this week—cultivates a family feel. No. 5 is Synchrony Financial, which has left its GE heritage behind and built a unique, employee-focused culture. “It’s pretty great here,” says employee Stephanie Polistena. “They really, truly care about us. It’s not like you’re a cog in a wheel.”

To be sure, pay still matters. Nvidia is No. 3 on the list because its employees have benefitted from its extraordinary success in recent years. And note that No. 4 is American Express, which has separated itself from its downtown New York neighbor Goldman Sachs by leaning into remote work. Indeed, a commitment to ‘hybrid’ has emerged as one of the distinguishing characteristics of great workplaces. Of the 100 companies on the 2024 list, only two say they require employees to be onsite four or more days per week.

You can find the full 2024 list online this morning here. Other news below

Alan Murray
@alansmurray
[email protected]

TOP NEWS

Iger defeats Peltz

Disney CEO Bob Iger notched a decisive victory against activist investor Nelson Peltz and his Trian Partners firm Wednesday when shareholders backed Disney’s 12 directors “by a substantial margin,” the entertainment giant said. Peltz had urged shareholders to add him and former Disney exec Jay Rasulo to Disney’s board, blasting Iger’s kitchen-sink approach to boosting Disney shares. The outcome is a vote of confidence in Iger, long considered Hollywood’s most powerful executive. Financial Times

An ‘alarming turning point’ for gender parity

Women’s share of executive roles dropped in 2023 after slow but steady progress every year since 2006, worrying researchers who are calling it an “alarming turning point.” Women held 11.8% of 15,000 executives roles at publicly-traded U.S. companies, down from 12.2% in 2022. Researchers didn’t cite a definitive reason for the decline, but other research suggests a narrow pipeline—in which women hold few revenue-generating management positions—is partly to blame. Washington Post

Outsourcing to Britain 

More U.S. companies are moving white-collar jobs to the U.K., drawn by Britain’s cost advantage for software developers, consultants, lawyers, and even film producers who are now cheaper to hire in London than in some of the poorest U.S. cities. Wall Street Journal 

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

Exclusive: The world’s top tech companies are launching a consortium to address AI’s impact on the workforce by Preston Fore

TSMC shrugs off Taiwan’s biggest earthquake in 25 years, showing its massive chip foundry mega-complexes are nearly quake-proof by Sasha Rogelberg

‘A four-day workweek is coming,’ billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen declares—and you can thank the rapid rise of AI by Jane Thier

Buckle up for a bumpy ride in the stock market, BMO Wealth Management’s CIO says. And he’s not the only one sounding the alarm by Will Daniel

Jeff Bezos continues homebuying spree with a $90 million mansion in Miami’s ‘Billionaire Bunker’ area by Sydney Lake

Analysts explain the rise of China’s EV sector—and how it might navigate protectionist backlash and Beijing withdrawing support by Lionel Lim

Companies that don’t see ROI on diverse marketing are making one easily fixable mistake by Lila MacLellan

This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Claire Zillman. 

This is the web version of CEO Daily, a newsletter of must-read insights from Fortune CEO Alan Murray. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.