Only one in five employees around the world are engaged at work, according to Gallup, and 40 per cent report considerable daily stress. So where are the best places to work in Australia? Forbes and Statista surveyed more than 300,000 workers to find out.
Key Takeaways
- Atlassian is the only Australian company in the top 100.
- BHP is the third-highest Australian entry at No. 217.
- All four major banks made the list: ANZ at No. 243, Commonwealth Bank at No. 291, Westpac at No. 315 and NAB at No. 499.
- Banks, financial services firms and insurers account for eight of the 21 Australian companies.
- CSL is the lowest-ranked Australian company at No. 893.
- Microsoft tops the global ranking, followed by Delta Air Lines and Shopify.
Key Background
This is the seventh year Forbes and Statista have compiled the list. They surveyed more than 300,000 employees in more than 50 countries. The surveys were run independently of the companies, so respondents stayed anonymous.
Respondents rated how likely they were to recommend their employer to friends and family. They also scored it on salary, career advancement, work-life balance and reputation. They could rate former employers from the past two years, as well as companies they knew through their industry or through people who work there.
Scores draw on three years of data, with more weight on recent results and on current employees. To be eligible, a company needed more than 1,000 staff and global operations. The final list covers 900 companies headquartered in 52 countries. Companies do not pay to be included.
Big Number
20%. That is the share of employees across more than 140 countries who say they are engaged at work, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 report.
The Australian Companies
Atlassian topped the list for Australian companies at No. 60, and the only one in the top 100.
It’s been a whirlwind year for the software giant which in March cut approximately 1,600 employees, around 10 per cent of its global workforce. Affected staff received a minimum 16-week separation package, six months of extended healthcare and a prorated bonus.
The company has since turned around. Its shares jumped as much as 35 per cent after August’s earnings, putting it close to fully recovering from its February selloff. Cannon-Brookes is now Australia’s richest tech billionaire on Forbes Australia’s real-time rich list, worth US$12.1 billion, with cofounder Scott Farquhar close behind at US$11.8 billion.
Its $1.4 billion Sydney headquarters is also nearly finished. Atlassian Central reached its full height in July, becoming the world’s tallest hybrid timber building at 39 storeys.
Canva is next at No. 138. BHP is third at No. 217. And all four major banks made the list: ANZ at No. 243, Commonwealth Bank at No. 291, Westpac at No. 315 and NAB at No. 499.
See the full list below.
Source: Forbes World’s Best Employers 2026. See the full list.
Tangent
James Hardie was founded in Australia but sits at No. 311 under Ireland, where it is domiciled. Air New Zealand is the highest-ranked New Zealand company at No. 266.
The Global Top 10
Source: Forbes World’s Best Employers 2026. See the full list.
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