Workers at freight giant DHL and tech firms Atlassian and Salesforce are onto something; they're already at the best places to work in Asia Pacific, according to a new survey.
The three companies topped their respective categories - multinationals, large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - in the Great Place to Work Institute's Best Workplaces 2016 survey.
Omnicom, Google, EMC and Marriott rounded out the top five in the multinational sector, while Aussie retailer Mecca Brands, Indian IT company RMSI Private, the Korea Airports Corporation and another Australian retailer, kikki.K, were on Atlassian's heels in the Large Workplaces (more than 501 employees) list.
In the SME sector (50-500 employees), the Singapore office of U.S.-headquartered Salesforce topped an otherwise Australia-dominated list, with financial services company Optiver Australia coming in second, followed by fellow Aussies the Physio Co, The Entourage and Nous Group.
While information technology firms make up about one-fifth of the Best Workplaces lists overall, there were other firms without "the luxury of sleeping pods, flexible work arrangements or smoothies in the pantry" that also made great workplaces, said Evelyn Kwek, managing director at the Great Place to Work Institute Singapore.
"These companies have an environment where there is camaraderie between colleagues, where management and employees have good working relationships, and this is what attracts employees to work at such places," said Kwek. "It's beyond the paycheck."
Kwek adds that the size of a company is not really an issue when it comes to top workplaces.
"There are employees who are equally energized and enthused even in the [smaller] companies," she added.
The survey found that an employee's desire to remain at their company was closely connected with feeling respected by their employer. Respect would be demonstrated by simple acts such as providing basic equipment for the job, welcoming employee suggestions and acknowledging good work, according to the survey.
Employee motivation can also be spurred by fair practices, such as equal treatment regardless of job titles and merit-based promotions, accordingly to the Great Place to Work Institute.
The institute defines "a great workplace as one where employees trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do and enjoy the people they work with."
Firms Down Under dominated the Top 10 lists in Asia-Pacific, making up 33 percent across the three size categories, followed by Indian companies, which accounted for 21 percent of Asia Pacific's highest-ranked workplaces.
The survey covered 1,064 companies that employ 1.8 million employees across nine countries. The results are based on a Trust Index survey completed by employees, as well as a "culture audit" that analyzed companies' human resource practices and policies.