3 In NJ Among 2021 Best Companies To Work Amid COVID-19: Fortune

NEW JERSEY — The businesses ranked among this year’s 100 Best Companies To Work For have at least one thing in common: They treated employees well during the pandemic.

The 24th annual list, compiled by Fortune and Great Place To Work, honors the “most heroic companies supporting their people and communities in the U.S. during this historically challenging year,” according to a release by Fortune.

Three New Jersey companies were ranked on this year's list. They were:

67. Atlantic Health

• Industry: Healthcare
• Rank last year: 89
• Employees: 17,451
• Percentage of women: 75.7 percent
• Percentage of minorities: 40.9 percent
• Revenue in 2020: Not listed

The listing from Fortune states:

"The Morristown based company has treated thousands of patients during the coronavirus pandemic. Initially, this required swift training and redeployment of nurses to work in designated COVID units, of which there were eventually 37 in total. They also scaled up their call center for front line workers who were exposed to the virus, partnered with local hotels to secure rooms for frontline employees and arranged for dining gift cards and care package deliveries, and provided additional pandemic pay, health care benefits and child care."

69. Burlington Stores

• Industry: Retail apparel
• Rank last year: Unranked
• Employees: 56,000
• Percentage of women: 74.9 percent
• Percentage of minorities: 70 percent
• Revenue in 2020: Not listed

The listing from Fortune states:

"The Burlington-based company makes its debut on the list despite being hit hard early during the pandemic due to its lack of e-commerce. Burlington still paid employees who got sick from COVID up to two weeks’ pay while they quarantined. As stores reopened in early summer, Burlington brought back its furloughed employees and restored pay to initial levels."

100. Merck

• Industry: Pharmaceuticals
• Rank last year: Unranked
• Employees: 26,900
• Percentage of women: 50.1 percent
• Percentage of minorities: 29.1 percent
• Revenue in 2020: Not listed

The listing from Fortune states:

"The 130-year-old company joins the list after President Joe Biden announced in March that it would help produce Johnson & Johnson's one-shot vaccine. Merck managed to increase employee benefits during the pandemic, and added “LifeCare” specialists who can provide help in hiring a nanny or search for virtual tutors to support e-learning. When current CEO Ken Frazier departs at the end of June, CFO Robert Davis will take the reins."

Cisco, based in San Jose, California, topped this year’s list. The company, which makes network and other communications equipment, employed 36,374 people as of March 2021. Cisco, ranked fourth last year, has been on the list every year since its creation.

Rounding out the top 5 were Salesforce, based in San Francisco; Hilton, based in McLean, Virginia; Wegmans, based in Rochester, New York; and Rocket Companies, based in Detroit, Michigan.

To compile this year’s list, Great Place to Work surveyed more than a half-million employees on issues including how trustworthy, caring and fair the company is in times of crises; employees’ physical, emotional and financial health; and the company’s overall impact on its community.

Companies also need to employ at least 1,000 employees to be considered for the list.

The results: A strong link surfaced between positive employee opinion and how senior leaders and direct managers responded to the COVID-19 crisis. In fact, 71 percent of workplaces on this year’s list scored better than in pre-pandemic years.

In a typical year, 75 percent of a company’s score is based on confidential employee feedback, while the remainder is the company’s response to an essay question focused on programs and practices. This year, however, the essay question focused on actions taken in response to the challenges of 2020.

These companies managed “not just to muddle through” the pandemic, according to Fortune’s release, but also to become “role models” for other businesses.

Read more about the 2021 methodology.

See this year’s full list of 100 Best Companies To Work For.