TIME magazine, in collaboration with Statista, a global provider of market data, has released its second annual "Best Employers" ranking for 2026. The project aims to highlight companies that foster strong workforces, recognizing that employee satisfaction can influence productivity, innovation, profitability, and industry reputation.
The methodology for the "Best Employers of 2026" ranking involved extensive surveys conducted through online access panels to ensure a representative sample of employees across participating countries. Initial survey efforts focused on Brazil, India, and Australia.
In Australia, the study gathered 200,000 employer evaluations from companies in all sectors with at least 200 employees. India saw 760,000 evaluations from companies employing 500 or more people, while Brazil contributed over 900,000 evaluations from companies with at least 500 employees.
To maintain neutrality and prevent companies from influencing respondent selection, participants were asked to name their current employer using an open-ended question with an auto-complete function. This approach aimed to capture genuine employee sentiment.
The scoring model combined two types of evaluations: direct scores, reflecting employees' willingness to recommend their own employer, and indirect perception scores, assessing their willingness to recommend other employers within the same industry. Data for these scores were collected throughout 2025 and 2026.
Respondents rated their willingness to recommend their employer on a scale of 0 to 10 for the direct score. For the indirect score, employees were presented with an industry list and asked for their opinions on standout employers, with options to recommend, not recommend, or state no opinion. An open-ended question also allowed for the nomination of other companies.
Greater weight was given to direct recommendations, as these are considered the strongest indicators of employee satisfaction. The final ranking reflects both how employees view their own workplaces and the broader industry perception of companies, offering a balanced perspective on top employers.