• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
MagazineBest Workplaces

What the World’s 25 Best Workplaces have in common

By Brett Haensel
October 19, 2020, 8:00 AM ET

Throughout the year, in partnership with people analytics firm Great Place to Work, Fortune publishes lists ranking the best U.S. workplaces across a number of categories. In 2020, on the Best Workplaces for Diversity, Millennials, Women, and Parents lists, as well as the Best Workplaces in Technology, tech conglomerate Cisco has ranked among the top eight—and it landed at No. 4 on this year’s domestic 100 Best Companies list.

So it should come as no surprise that Cisco tops GPTW and Fortune’s World’s 25 Best Workplaces list this year, for the second year in a row. 

All 25 companies appearing here received top ratings on GPTW’s surveys of their employees in at least five countries. On average, these firms have offices in 12 different countries and employ 88,000 people worldwide. About half (12 of 25) are headquartered in the U.S., including four of the top five. 

Illlustration by Sam Peet

As they did last year, technology companies—either in the IT or biotech and pharma industries—constitute 40% of the top 25. Dell Technologies (No. 17) is a newcomer this year, as are Daimler Mobility AG (the financial services and insurance arm of the German automaker), Cadence (electronics), Marriott International (hospitality), Volvo Group (manufacturing), and Deloitte (professional services). 

For more on companies that prioritize employee satisfaction, social responsibility, and workplace diversity, please also see the Great Place to Work lists of the 100 Best Small and 100 Best Medium domestic workplaces, which Fortune published on Oct. 16.

World’s 25 Best Workplaces

See full list details here.

CompanyNumber of employees
Cisco79,304
DHL Express104,000
Hilton173,504* 
Salesforce52,000
Stryker40,000
Mars67,784
The Adecco Group45,000
Mercado Libre13,058
SAS13,000
EY300,675
Intuit9,382
SAP95,853
Adobe22,000
Admiral Group11,243
AbbVie30,000
Daimler Mobility AG14,000
Dell Technologies165,000
Cadence8,674
Marriott International176,000
Volvo Group100,000
Roche98,000
Deloitte286,200
Santander194,000
Natura6,396
Scotiabank97,000

*As of Jan 1, 2020

A version of this article appears in the November 2020 issue of Fortune with the headline, “Global giants getting it right.”


Latest from the Magazine

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest from the Magazine

MagazineVictoria's Secret
How Victoria’s Secret got its sexy back
By Emma HinchliffeFebruary 4, 2026
3 days ago
MagazineLetter from London
Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison’s next big bet: Redefining how long–and how well–we live
By Kamal AhmedFebruary 3, 2026
3 days ago
MagazineSilicon Valley
AI is changing the CEO’s role—and could lead to a changing of the guard
By Phil WahbaFebruary 3, 2026
4 days ago
MagazineFedEx
How FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam is adapting to the era of ‘re-globalization’
By Nicholas GordonFebruary 1, 2026
5 days ago
MagazineEducation
The 1966 cover of Fortune Magazine welcomed the Information age. Now the AI era beckons
By Indrani SenJanuary 30, 2026
7 days ago
MagazineBonds
Bonds 101: What investors need to know about the ‘shock absorber of the portfolio’
By Jeff John RobertsJanuary 29, 2026
9 days ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
C-Suite
OpenAI’s Sam Altman says his highly disciplined daily routine has ‘fallen to crap’—and now unwinds on weekends at a ranch with no cell phone service
By Jacqueline MunisFebruary 5, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Meet the Palm Beach billionaire who paid $2 million for a private White House visit with Trump
By Tristan BoveFebruary 3, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
After decades in the music industry, Pharrell Williams admits he never stops working: ‘If you do what you love everyday, you’ll get paid for free'
By Emma BurleighFebruary 3, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Travel & Leisure
How Japan replaced France as the country young Americans obsessively romanticize—they’re longing for civility they don’t see at home
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 5, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Ray Dalio warns the world is ‘on the brink’ of a capital war of weaponizing money—and gold is the best way for people to protect themselves
By Sasha RogelbergFebruary 4, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Trump is giving the U.S. economy a $65 billion tax-refund shot in the arm, mostly for higher-income people, BofA says
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 5, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.