Every year I find 100 reasons to hate my job. They come in the form of Fortune magazine's annual 100 Best Companies to Work For issue.
A list perennial, the number one company to work for this year was Google, with things like on-site medical, restaurant, masseuses and a slew of other benefits (noticeably absent was senior care for employees over 25).
The other ninety-nine companies have things like a paid week off to do public service work, weekly meetings with the CEO to talk about what's on their minds, and even Segways to ride from one end of the office to the other.
Some companies boast of the longevity of their employees - over 1,000 Mattel employees have been there 15 years or longer. It's a concept alien to most people in advertising, who change jobs more often than Taylor Swift changes boyfriends.
Speaking of advertising, they may have been there but I didn't notice any agencies on the list. Which seems unfair, because many of them seem to meet the flimsy criteria to get on it. For example, Chiat has a basketball court, restaurant, indoor park and pirate parking stickers. Take that Zappos.
Every year when the issue arrives, I always have the same thought: maybe I'll send out a few emails to the companies that look interesting and see if anyone notices. The problem is it's like trying to buy a Prius after gas hits four dollars - everyone wants to do it.
Alright, I don't know if that's the right analogy but you see where I'm going.
The bizarre thing is I've already worked for many of these companies on the agency side. I know I had a list for some of them, but it was a different list. And while they may have earned their place on it, they definitely wouldn't be bragging about it.
Anyway, I'll keep reading and see if I can find the company of my dreams.
Or at the very least one that offers a year-round "Say It With Cash" policy.
