An independent study tested all five against whether employees intend to stay long-term, using two years of Australian Trust Index™ survey data. Of everything the five themes reveal about retention, employee pride accounted for 25.8% — far more than any other.
The instrument behind every figure on this page. Employees respond to 60 statements about their day-to-day experience at work, and the Trust Index™ score is the average positive response.
Within pride, one statement,
“I’m proud to tell others I work here,”
best measures what your people say about you when you are not in the room. At Best Workplaces, 96.2% agree. At typical Australian workplaces only 60.0% of employees would say the same.
Among employees who strongly disagreed,
The payoff shows up where it counts for hiring. 91.7% of employees at Best Workplaces say they want to work there for a long time, against 56.3% at typical Australian workplaces. 93.9% would strongly endorse their employer to friends and family, against 54.1%.
The data also shows that Pride shows up in what people think their work adds up to. 94.6% of employees at Best Workplaces feel a sense of pride in what they accomplish, against 69.2% at typical Australian workplaces. 92.7% feel they make a difference, against 64.6%. Importantly, 88.7% say their work has special meaning, against the 53.1% standard.
What sets best workplaces apart from the rest is a genuine focus on the culture of the organisation, coming from the top. Those leaders treat culture as something they build deliberately, they make a concerted effort to create the space they want to see, rather than leaving it to happen on its own just because they’ve hired the right people.
While employees aged 25 and under are the most likely to says they’re proud to tell people where they work, they’re also the least likely cohort to say they want to stay at their company long-term, 86.1% against 91.7% for everyone else
Even so, at Australia’s Best Workplaces™, they still score their employer higher (86.1%) than the rest of the workforce (56.3%)
Ask this group what makes their workplace good and they talk about people. Across their written comments, the team is the subject they name most, ahead of pay, managers and perks put together. The numbers agree, 97.3% of under-25s who worked at Best Workplaces agree that they were made to feel welcome, against just 69.2% at typical Australian workplaces.
25 and under at Best Workplaces™
25 and under at typical workplaces
One statement set sits behind the rest. 83.3% of under-25s at Best Workplaces say their work has special meaning, lower than the 88.7% across all ages, and 88% say they make a difference, against 92.7% of the rest of the workforce. Their written comments name the fix: better training, clearer career pathways, and being taken seriously early.
under-25s at Best Workplaces
All other ages at Best Workplaces
under-25s at Best Workplaces
All other ages at Best Workplaces
Young employees at Australia’s Best Workplaces™ are emphatic about wanting to know how decisions get made. 89.3% say promotions go to those who best deserve them, against 45.0% at typical Australian workplaces. 87.1% say managers avoid playing favourites, against 43.4%. 87.3% say management involves people in decisions affecting their jobs, against 45.2%.
There was one other measure in the data that held up across every age group, and every size of organisation. Of 60 statements, “Management’s actions match its words” placed in the top three for its relationship to a great culture, from micro companies to large.
Best Workplaces
Typical Australian Workplaces
Across the 60 statements in the Trust Index™ survey, these scored highest and lowest for Australia’s Best Workplaces™ in 2026.
Across all 60 statements in the survey, this is the average of all the responses.
Two datasets sit behind this report: the survey that decided this year’s list, a separate study of what predicts retention, and our trust index to typical organisations.
Dataset | What it is | Scale |
|---|---|---|
2026 Trust Index™ Survey | The employee research that determined this year’s Best Workplaces™ list. | 128,405 employees surveyed across Australia |
Independent Retention Survey | Separate research commissioned with an independent research partner, testing which Trust Index™ themes best predict long-term retention. | 140,251 Australian employee responses from 682 organisations, 2025–2026 |
Q: What exactly did you measure?
We sent the same 60-statement survey to 128,405 employees across Australia. The survey measures trust across five dimensions: camaraderie (the team), credibility (leadership), fairness (decision-making), pride (meaning and reputation), and respect (feeling valued). Employees responded anonymously to statements like “I’m proud to tell others I work here” and “Management’s actions match its words.” The Trust Index™ score is the average positive response across all 60 statements.
Q: What do you mean by pride?
Pride in this context is measured by three specific statements: “I’m proud to tell others I work here,” “I feel pride in what I accomplish here,” and “My work has special meaning.” It’s not about bragging or arrogance. It’s about whether your people feel their work matters, whether they respect the organisation, and whether they’d recommend it to others. The data shows that pride accounts for 25.8% of whether an employee stays—more than any other single factor.
Q: Why should I trust Great Place To Work data?
The Trust Index™ methodology has been used to measure workplace culture for 30 years across 150+ countries. The survey is validated against employee retention, engagement, and organisational performance. For the retention findings in this report, an independent research partner—not Great Place To Work—conducted the analysis using 140,251 Australian employee responses from 682 organisations across 2025–2026. This independence ensures the findings aren’t biased. All percentages in the report come directly from the survey data, not interpretation.
Q: Will certification or best workplaces recognition help us hire better people?
Yes. A survey of Australian talent showed they’re 15x more likely to apply to a company if it’s Great Place To Work Certified. There are also reports of higher passive candidate interest when organisations carry the certification. But here’s why it actually works: certification gives candidates credible proof that your culture is real. Job seekers are skeptical of “we’re a great place to work” claims because every company says it. But employee-verified recognition is harder to fake. The certification becomes a signal candidates can trust—which means you attract people who are actually looking for what you’re offering, not just anyone desperate for a job.
One research-backed system. 30 years of global data. The proven way to build a high-trust, high-performing culture you can celebrate.
The insights above are powerful only if they change what you do.
Here’s where different leaders should start.
Your #1 retention lever just got specific.
Pride accounts for 25.8% of whether someone stays. It’s whether your people would say “I’m proud to tell others I work here.”
At Best Workplaces, 96% say yes. At typical companies, 60% do. That 36-point gap is intentional.
What to do next.
→ Want to measure pride? Learn more about The Trust Index Survey
Your management team is either your biggest asset or your biggest liability.
The data says something stunning: “Management’s actions match its words” ranks in the top three predictors of culture across every organisation size and age group. It’s the through-line. Not one area of excellence- alignment between what you say and what you do. 92.5% Best Workplaces employees believe their managers keep their word
49.6% Typical Australian employees believe their managers keep their word
Pride, fairness, credibility- they all flow from this one thing. Your people aren’t asking for perfection. They’re asking
for consistency.
What to do right now: