Employee happiness is in the trash.

The satisfaction and commitment of rank-and-file workers has been declining for several yearsand many workplaces are dark. Back-to-office mandates, cost-cutting, and burnout are just a few of the reasons some employees are feeling down, and their unhappiness comes at a cost. When employees aren’t satisfied, they aren’t as productive. Recruiting also becomes more difficult when your staff is unhappy.

Our annual Best Places to Work report examines why employees are disenchanted. We also look at what the most effective workplaces are doing to combat this trend. It’s probably not realistic for everyone in your organization to be happy every day. But cultivating an environment where employees feel engaged and focused on growth is a big step in the right direction.

How did we select the best places to work? On behalf of the Tribune, Exton, Pa.-based Energage, a workplace survey and improvement specialist, conducted a survey of designated Chicago-area employers with at least 100 employees. Most surveys were carried out between April and July.

To determine the winners, Energage conducted a scientific survey. The Tribune did not pay Energage. The Tribune used media coverage as well as publicity to seek nominations. A total of 6,837 companies were invited to participate, up from 6,995 in 2023. Of these, 231 companies responded to the survey, allowing Energage to identify the best organizations, divided into three categories: small (smaller of 250 employees), medium (250 to 999) and large (1,000 or more), the same divisions as the previous surveys. Energage sent surveys to 116,651 Chicago-area workers, and 65,201 responded.

Energage delivered the results to the Tribune. The list of companies not designated Top Workplace has been kept confidential by Energage. The company surveyed employees using paper and online surveys.

Employees responded to a series of statements about their feelings about their workplace, using a seven-point scale. The statements focused on issues such as company direction, execution and connection. A numerical value was attached to each statement, allowing Energage to create an overall score for each company.

Subsequently, Energage ran a series of statistical tests to look for any questionable results. The company said it sometimes disqualifies a small number of employers based on these tests. The list is ordered by size because small employers tend to score higher than medium-sized employers, and medium-sized employers tend to score higher than large employers.