COMP NEWS – California leads the way for companies with employees happiest with their pay. A new survey has shown that Silicon Valley, in a bid to remain competitive in its hiring practices, has been increasing its compensation structures and pay transparency.

California-based tech giants dominate the list of companies where workers feel most satisfied with their pay, according to Comparably’s sixth annual report based on employee reviews.

Coming in at No. 1, Adobe employees report being happy with their compensation across pay, benefits, bonus structures, equity and more. The Comparably report takes a look at anonymous employee ratings submitted to the reviews site from September 2021 to September 2022.

There’s no shortage of macroeconomic reasons to be less satisfied with your pay these days, from skyrocketing inflation to a tumultuous stock market deflating equity, says Jason Nazar, Comparably’s CEO and founder.

The companies that have remained at the top of this year’s list have upped the ante to continue paying competitively, especially in a tight hiring market and inflationary period, as well as offer more expansive perks to support workers’ interests and wellbeing.

Here are the top 15 companies where workers feel happiest with their pay:

• Adobe: San Jose, California
• RingCentral: Belmont, California
• Meta: Menlo Park, California
• Microsoft: Redmond, Washington
• Google: Mountain View, CaliforniA
• ZipRecruiter: Santa Monica, California
• Medallia: San Francisco, California
• Chegg: Santa Clara, California
• Palo Alto Networks: Santa Clara, California
• Boston Consulting Group: Boston, Massachusetts
• Snap Inc.: Santa Monica, California
• SAP: Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
• Squarespace: New York, New York
• IBM: Armonk, New York
• Calix: San Jose, California

Many of the companies on this list have recently increased their compensation to retain top talent in a tight market.

Many companies have increased their pay and compensation in order to stay competitive in a tight hiring market. Others have also pointed the need to raise pay to outpace inflation, which can sour employee morale. For example, No. 4 Microsoft said that beginning July 1, it would nearly double its budget for employee salary increases and boost stock compensation to help workers cope with inflation.

But workers want to feel supported beyond their paycheck. At No. 1 Adobe, one employee notes in their review that they value the company’s coverage of some child-care costs until the age of 6. Meanwhile, a Microsoft employee notes that the “salary is excellent,” and they enjoy a flexible benefits package including a spending account to claim back for hobbies, family care, dog-walking and more.

Workers also signaled that they appreciated greater pay transparency from their employers.

Beyond pay itself, workers also expect a greater deal of pay transparency from their employer. “Companies that pay very well skew toward organizations that tend to be transparent about pay,” Nazar says.

That doesn’t mean people don’t have rightful grievances, though, if there’s not enough transparency, or if leaders aren’t accountable to fix discrepancies.

Further, companies with transparent pay structures can create an environment where workers feel comfortable vocalizing dissatisfaction without without fear of retaliation, and with an expectation that their leaders will actually address it.

To read more about the 15 companies where employees are happiest with their pay, click here.

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