Great Place to Work(R) Institute and FORTUNE Magazine Move into the Second Decade...

Great Place to Work(R) Institute and FORTUNE Magazine Move into the Second Decade of ''100 Best Companies to Work For(R)'' Lists

- San Francisco Institute Leads Great Place to Work(R) Movement -

- Study Shows Link Between Worker Satisfaction and Increased
Market Returns -
SAN FRANCISCO--(Business Wire)--Today, FORTUNE magazine released its 100 Best Companies to Work
For(R) list (www.fortune.com), with Google at the top for the second
straight year. This annual list of top US workplaces is compiled by
the San Francisco-based Great Place to Work(R) Institute, which has
authored the list since 1998.

The FORTUNE "100 Best" list is unique among workplace surveys in
that two-thirds of the weight for the review is based on employee
survey data. "The best way to find out if a company is a good employer
is to ask the employees who work there," said Milton Moskowitz, who,
along with Institute co-founder Robert Levering, co-authored all the
lists since 1998.

Great Workplaces Outperform the Stock Market

Studies show being a great place to work is good for business, as
publicly traded "100 Best" companies have consistently outperformed
the S&P 500 by a wide margin. A 2007 paper
(http://www.greatplacetowork.com/news/index.php?date=463), "Does the
Stock Market Fully Value Intangibles? Employee Satisfaction and Equity
Prices," found that an "annually rebalanced portfolio of FORTUNE
magazine's 'Best Companies to Work For in America' earned 14 percent
per year from 1998 to 2005, over double the market return. The
portfolio also outperformed industry- and characteristics-matched
benchmarks."

"Having great workplaces is becoming a more central part of the
corporate agenda. This is not just a feel-good thing -- it's a
bottom-line thing," said Levering, who noted that more companies have
committed to becoming great places to work in the past 10 years. In
1998, 167 companies applied for the FORTUNE list, compared to over 400
for 2008.

With competition for talent expected to increase in the next 10
years as baby boomers retire, "great places to work will be the ones
that attract and retain the top talent," said Levering.

2008 Workplace Trends: Greater Workplace Flexibility &
Transparency

Trends in this year's FORTUNE "100 Best" results include:

-- Companies are finding more ways to share their profits with
employees -- through programs such as stock options and
deferred profit sharing. Of the 27,039 employees surveyed, 71
percent find the statement, "I feel I receive a fair share of
the profits made by this organization" to be true. In 1998,
only 56 percent did.

-- Work-family benefits continue to improve. This year 72
companies offer domestic partner benefits, 69 offer adoption
assistance and 85 provide eldercare services.

-- More companies are competing for workers by offering flexible
work schedules, compressed workweeks, telecommuting and
sabbaticals. Eighty-four of the "100 Best" allow employees to
telecommute or work at home.

The FORTUNE "100 Best" Selection Process

As the largest annual study of American workplaces, the list is
the most widely recognized national ranking of best workplaces.
Securing and maintaining a ranking on FORTUNE's competitive "100 Best"
list is intensive. Participation is free although companies must have
at least 1,000 U.S. employees and be at least seven years old to be
eligible to apply. The process starts with a five-minute free online
nomination.

Any company that appears on the list is selected primarily on the
basis of its employees' responses to the Great Place to Work(R) Trust
Index(C), a proprietary employee survey. In addition, the Institute
evaluates materials submitted by the company, including its response
to the Great Place to Work(R) Culture Audit(C).

The Institute underscores that the process of committing to become
a great workplace is as important as making the list. All companies
who apply receive a complimentary confidential report on their
employee survey results, allowing them to benchmark against the "100
Best" and further improve their workplaces.

"Any company can be a great place to work -- they don't have to be
a Microsoft or a Goldman Sachs. It all starts with involving and
listening to their employees," said Levering.

Nominations are open for the 2009 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to
Work For(R) list until March 31, 2009, and can be submitted at
www.greatplacetowork.com.

About the Great Place to Work(R) Institute

Dedicated for 26 years to "building a better society by helping
companies transform their workplaces," the Great Place to Work(R)
Institute is a global research and consulting firm headquartered in
San Francisco, with 30 affiliates in Europe, the Americas, Asia and
Oceana. The Institute uses its Trust Index(C) employee survey and
Culture Audit(C) to produce the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work
For(R) and the "Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America"
lists in addition to best companies lists in 30 countries. The
Institute recognizes the world's best workplaces and provides
conferences, workshops and advisory and consulting services to those
who seek to create great workplaces of their own. For more
information, visit www.greatplacetowork.com.

For Great Place to Work Institute:
Lee Weinstein, 503-708-0402
lee@leeweinstein.biz

Copyright Business Wire 2008