ATD Blog
Thu Apr 26 2012
(From Forbes) -- Do you envy those who go to work every day truly cheerful and eager? You can be that happy, too. Just land a job at Nordstrom, GlaxoSmithKline or FedEx.
Of course you’re not guaranteed to be satisfied at these places—but the odds are in your favor. These are three of the happiest companies for young professionals, according to career website CareerBliss.com.
CareerBliss compiled a list of the 10 companies where young employees are happiest, based on analysis from more than 223,500 employee-generated reviews between March 2011 and March 2012.
“As college graduates make the transition from academic to work-life, the transition can be scary and intimidating,” says Heidi Golledge, chief executive of CareerBliss. “Knowing which companies have ranked well with recent graduates can help others identify what companies might be best for their new career path.”
Young professionals, defined by CareerBliss as employees with less than 10 years’ experience in a full-time position, were asked to rate the company they work for, in terms of happiness, on a five-point scale.
GE Energy, a division of General Electric, leads the pack as the happiest company for young professionals. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., the firm has over 100,000 employees in more than 100 countries. It earned an index score of 4.528.
“I believe strongly that people want to work at GE Energy because being here means working with highly motivated, highly talented colleagues–and that brings out the best work in each of us,” says Sharon Daley, vice president of Human Resources there. “From next generation wind turbines, solar panels, engines that run on biogas, smart grids and the latest subsea oil and gas technologies, GE Energy employees are working on things that matter to the world.”
Why are young employees at that company so contented? “With GE Energy one of the largest parts of GE, our employees know they are working at a company that has the size and scale to change things,” Daley says. “At the same time, we run the business as if we were a small company or a start-up. That means that young professionals joining GE Energy have high levels of responsibility early. They are actively encouraged to think and act like entrepreneurs. And they are out there talking to customers and working to understand and anticipate their technology needs. That mix of freedom and accountability means our employees can see the effect their efforts are having immediately. Each person sees that they are making an impact – and that’s rewarding. So, yes, there is a lot to be happy about when we walk into work each day.”
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