Identifying the best workplaces, happiest employees

While scrolling recently on X, formerly Twitter, I came across a tweet I assumed was fake. It said nearly half of workers are more afraid of working in an office full time than getting a divorce or losing their romantic relationships.

The study was conducted in February by LiveCareer, a resource that assists with resumes and cover letters and claims it has helped more than 10 million job seekers in 180 countries in the past 15 years. Nearly 4,000 American workers were surveyed regarding their work preferences with yes-no questions, open-ended questions, multiple-choice questions and more.

Other findings: 53 percent of employees fear the prospect of full-time office work more than climate change; 41 percent are more afraid of having to work on-site full time for the rest of their life than getting into a car accident; and 41 percent are more scared of on-site full-time work than natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes.

More scenarios included having $10,000 stolen (34 percent are more afraid of in-office work), losing their retirement savings (23 percent are more scared of in-office work) and losing a loved one (16 percent are more afraid of on-site full-time work).

While the scenarios are a bit extreme, the results show workers prefer working remotely or at least in a hybrid model — a mix of working from home and working in an office during the week. Nearly three-quarters of respondents prefer working remotely 100 percent of the time, while just 22 percent prefer a hybrid arrangement.

It's been just over four years since many companies temporarily shut down or forced their employees to work from home to avoid COVID-19. Essential businesses that required staff to report in person adjusted their workspaces for social distancing, mandated personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves, and increased sanitation efforts.

Some employers still allow their staff to work from home, while others have mandated at least a hybrid model with in-office work a few days per week.

More than 80 percent of respondents of LiveCareer's survey said working remotely is better for their mental health vs. working on-site, 79 percent said working remotely is less stressful than working in an office, and 62 percent said their overall job satisfaction is greatest when they work remotely. Only 2 percent of respondents prefer to work on-site full time than remotely or in a hybrid model.

The data also shows 44 percent of respondents work longer hours at home than when they work in the office.

But not all work is able to be done from home, especially in the plastics industry, where many employees are working from a manufacturing floor. So businesses need to offer attractive workplace benefits to appeal to and retain happy, skilled employees.

Plastics News' Best Places to Work list highlights the industry's organizations that foster a positive, engaged environment for all of its employees, both in-person and remote workers.

To keep remote workers engaged, employers have daily check-ins, open communication, internal newsletters and in-person events to connect with co-workers.

Many organizations offer summer picnics, holiday parties with costume contests, giveaways, catered food and potlucks, sporting event outings, bowling, ax-throwing, themed dress-up days and even trips to other countries. Birthdays are celebrated with cake and cards signed by colleagues, and milestone anniversaries are acknowledged with custom plaques and gifts.

Programs that recognize an employee's hard work for going above and beyond for the company are also common. Some companies pay 100 percent of medical care premiums or contribute money to employees' health savings accounts. Others have fully paid maternity and paternity leave.

Companies also take time to give back to their communities, with many offering paid time off to volunteer, team outings, charitable donation matches, and food and clothing drives.

Benefits and team-bonding activities aside, many employees surveyed stay at their organization because of its overall environment, with many describing their company culture as family-like, welcoming and flexible.

This year's list identifies six top processors and 10 top suppliers in the plastics industry that have happy, fulfilled employees.

The Best Places to Work program is handled by independent research partner Workforce Research Group, founded in 2021 by Peter Burke, who has two decades worth of experience managing top workplaces programs.

The two-part survey consists of an employer assessment, worth 20 percent of the company's overall score, about practices and policies, as well as an employee feedback survey that includes employees' opinions about their workplace experience. Worth 80 percent of the company's overall score, the employee feedback survey's results are organized around nine focus areas: general employee experience; role satisfaction; communication and workplace culture; supervisor relationship; training, technology and development; diversity and inclusion; leadership; benefits; and work-life balance.

The data collected is used to produce rankings for the Best Places to Work list.

To be eligible for the honor, companies must be publicly or privately held; be a for-profit, not-for-profit or government organization; have a physical operation in the United States or Canada; have at least 15 full- or part-time employees in the U.S. or Canada; have been in business for at least one year as of the program registration deadline; derive at least 50 percent of revenue from plastics-related operations; and be a plastics supplier or processor. Companies with 15-24 employees need an employee survey response rate of 80 percent or higher.

"My team and I are taking recognizing great places to work to new levels of excellence through the creation of credible and relevant lists," Burke said.

Companies interested in next year's program can find more information at https://www.plasticsnewsbestplacestowork.com/.

Jordan Vitick is the special projects editor for Plastics News.