Aug 15, 2012, 12:49pm

CareerBliss, the leading online career community helping people find joy and success at every step in their careers, announces its annual Bliss Leap Award winners for 2012. Fifty deserving companies were awarded for making the greatest strides to create happier work environments. Unlike other workplace recognition programs, the Bliss Leap Award evaluates company reviews placed on CareerBliss.com by employees over the past year to determine the companies with the most significant growth in overall workplace happiness year after year. Topping the list for 2012 is technology giant Google, followed by SuperMedia and Unisys, with AECOM Technology rounding out the Top 10. All of the companies in the Top 10 experienced an increase in employee happiness by more than 12 percent from 2011.

Top 10 Bliss Leap Award Winners

Rank				Company				2011 Bliss Score				2012 Bliss Score				Difference
1				Google				3.15				4.31				36.74%
2				SuperMedia				3.41				4.11				20.66%
3				Unisys				3.30				3.97				20.07%
4				GE Capital Bank				3.80				4.54				19.45%
5				Rockwell Collins				3.44				4.05				17.60%
6				Ernst & Young				3.70				4.29				15.91%
7				DynCorp				3.72				4.26				14.39%
8				Applied Materials				3.74				4.23				13.19%
9				The Coca-Cola Co.				3.73				4.21				12.79%
10				AECOM Technology				3.82				4.31				12.74%

* Data derived from 2011 and 2012 company reviews; ratings between 1-5, account for average score.

For a Full List of the Top 50 Winners

What Determines Happiness in the Workplace?

CareerBliss evaluates 10 key factors that impact happiness, including: Work-life balance, one's relationship with his or her boss and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks, and job control over the work performed on a daily basis. Employees rate their company on all 10 factors on a scale of 1 to 5. CareerBliss compared data from 2011 and 2012 during the same period to evaluate the companies with the greatest gains in employee happiness.

“The Bliss Leap Award honors companies who have spent the last year truly working towards creating a better company culture and happier employees,” says Heidi Golledge, CEO and Co-founder of CareerBliss. “It is interesting to see companies on this list raise their employee happiness from 12 percent to nearly 37 percent in just one year. This is certainly great news for companies who see retention and employee wellbeing as a key factor to their success, since they can make great strides in this area in just one year.

“Many of these companies are well on their way to making our Happiest Companies list, which will be out later this year. At CareerBliss, we feel it is important to recognize growth as both companies and employees can learn from these companies and their commitment to change.”

Google saw the greatest growth in employee happiness this year with nearly a 37 percent increase in overall happiness from 2011. Interestingly, Google, which ranked No. 1 on CareerBliss.com for employee happiness in 2010, saw a decline in employee happiness in 2011. Employee reviews in 2011 showed a decrease in overall workplace satisfaction. This year, the CareerBliss data highlights the company’s commitment to providing support and growth opportunities and their happiness turn around in 2012. Indeed, this category—support and growth—improved by 80 percent from the prior year.

“Like any organization, company culture is always changing and adapting with new management, policies, and company growth,” says Matt Miller, CTO and Co-founder of CareerBliss. “Google tells an interesting story, of how dynamic a workplace can change in just one year.”

Following Google, SuperMedia and Unisys saw increases of nearly 36 percent in areas such as senior management and the work environment.

“A common thread amongst all our Bliss Leap Award winners is the desire to improve and continue to foster a positive and happier work environment and for that, we applaud them.” says Golledge.

Bliss Leap Award Methodology

CareerBliss evaluated more than 50,000 company reviews and ratings from employees nationwide to determine the Top 50 honorees. All assessments are derived from 2011 and 2012. There must be a minimum of 10 reviews per year and per company to qualify. Employees rated 10 factors, which impact workplace happiness, rating them on a scale of 1 to 5. The data account for how an employee values each factor as well as how important that factor is to the employee’s overall happiness.

About CareerBliss

CareerBliss is an online career community designed to help everyone find happiness in the workplace. An information hub for everyone that works—employers, job seekers and recruiters—CareerBliss offers the ability to find out what makes them happy and the ability to seek that out in other jobs or improve on it in their current job using our PhD Board of Advisors, which includes more than six million independent company reviews and salary comparisons, and more than three million job listings.

For more information, visit: www.CareerBliss.com