Key insights for exceptional workplaces in 2025
Key insights for exceptional workplaces in 2025
In partnership with the Australian Financial Review, Bendelta reveals groundbreaking insights from nearly 10,000 employees across nine industries, pinpointing what elevates Australia’s top workplaces.
At the heart lies our BEING Human at Work model, which evaluates workplace excellence across five dimensions – Belonging, Energising, Integrating, Nurturing, and Generating.
Our findings reveal that when employees find meaning in their work, experience integrity between policy and practice, see leaders who show up for them, and enjoy policies that genuinely support life, extraordinary things can happen – happiness and productivity intersect, and organisations thrive.
These insights should not be viewed as criticisms of what companies get wrong, but as guideposts to what can be done right. The organisations recognised as Best Places to Work show that even in challenging times, whether grappling with technological disruption or social uncertainty, a commitment to meaningful, authentic, and equitable practices yields resilient, high-performing teams. Employees who are happy in the deepest sense, because their work matters and their workplace cares, are the ones who will innovate, delight customers, and drive long-term success.
The organisations that lead with purpose, bridge the say-do gap, elevate their leaders’ presence, and invest in their people’s well-being are those setting the benchmark. They are not just the best places to work, but the best places to grow, contribute, and belong.
Changes to the Best Places to Work 2026
Two significant changes are planned for the 2026 awards, with initial entries opening in August. Leveraging advances in artificial intelligence, we will expand our methodology to offer organisations greater flexibility in how they provide evidence.
This approach reduces the workload for entrants while also enhancing validity. Specifically, organisations will have the option to submit their own engagement survey results, use the BEING survey, or employ a combination
of both methods. Additionally, separate Lists for small, medium, and large organisations will be introduced to ensure fair competition across all sizes.
Best Places to Work 2025
Bendelta partnered with Australian Financial Review to deliver the Best Places to Work for 2025. Our approach, grounded in academic rigor and practical relevance, involved comprehensive employee surveys and detailed evaluations of organisational policies. We assessed nearly 10,000 employees across nine industries through our proprietary BEING Human at Work framework—capturing dimensions of Belonging, Energising, Integrating, Nurturing, and Generating—to holistically define workplace excellence.
