Glassdoor’s Best Place to Work: Google

Ten Cool Office Spaces That Go Beyond Tradition

Based on input from those in the know, the employees, Glassdoor has released its seventh annual Employees’ Choice Awards, which name the Best Places to Work in the U.S. and UK.

For the 2015 list, Google takes the number-one spot, with an overall ranking of 4.5 out of 5 possible stars. Employees and former employees cite most of the benefits and perks one could think of for an employer to provide. Great work-life balance and “food, food, food” make the hit lists of some reviewers on the site. Career progression and compensation compare favorably to competitors’ offerings. And CEO Larry Page is currently at a 97 percent approval rating. Who gets that? You may as well call it 100 percent.

Other tech companies ranking highly in the list include Facebook at number 13 – also cited for its provision of the all-important food – which impresses employees with smart people and transparent communication. Qualcomm, Adobe, Apple, LinkedIn, Gartner and NVIDIA all appear in the top 50 companies.

Not in that list? Twitter, which CNBC points out was number two overall just last year, and the highest-ranked tech company on the 2014 list. Glassdoor CEO Robert Hohman says it’s probably “the single biggest change.” He says management changes and reorganizations at the company over the last year likely are the cause for Twitter’s disappearance from the list of great places to work.

Kachina Shaw is managing editor for IT Business Edge and has been writing and editing about IT and the business for 15 years. She writes about IT careers, management, technology trends and managing risk. Follow Kachina on Twitter @Kachina and on Google+