You probably wouldn't expect a fast-food joint to rank higher than Facebook or Apple as a great place to work.
But In-N-Out Burger topped both of those companies, and many others, in a new ranking by the job site Glassdoor of the 50 best places to work. In-N-Out placed eighth on the list, which was topped by Google and the Boston consulting firm Bain & Co.
The regional burger chain, which has restaurants in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Texas, is the only fast-food company on the list. It didn’t crack the top 50 last year.
Glassdoor’s ranking was based entirely on employee feedback. Glassdoor collected more than 800,000 reviews from workers about the pros and cons of their jobs; how satisfied they are with their company; whether they would recommend a friend work there; and information about pay, benefits, opportunities to advance and work-life balance.
Companies were ranked based on their average employee ratings on a 5-point scale, with 5 being total job satisfaction. The full ranking, which only includes companies with at least 1,000 workers, can be found below.
In an industry known for low salaries and poor treatment of workers In-N-Out is often recognized for playing against type. According to Carl Van Fleet, vice president of planning and development at In-N-Out, the starting wage at the company is $10.50 an hour. That's a lot higher than the median hourly pay for fast-food workers nationwide, which is $8.94 an hour.
"We strive to create a working environment that is upbeat, enthusiastic and customer-focused," Van Fleet wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. "A higher pay structure is helpful in making that happen, but it is only part of our approach. It is equally important to treat our associates well and maintain that positive working environment in all of our restaurants."
Just last week, fast food workers in 190 cities across the country protested the industry's treatment of workers. But In-N-Out workers seem to be pretty satisfied with the company.
“Great pay rates, fantastic hours, calm and comfortable atmosphere, plenty of benefits, full of opportunity, friendly coworkers, overall very happy with the experience I gain here,” a part-time associate who has been working at In-N-Out for less than a year said in a review posted on Glassdoor. The jobs site moderates worker reviews and verifies users based on their email addresses or Facebook profiles.
A full-time associate who has worked at the company for more than five years listed the following pros: “The values of the company, the way they treat their associates, paid holidays off, atmosphere.”
One of the cons of the job, according to Glassdoor, is that it's difficult to get a full-time job there. Workers also complained about a strict dress code, standing for long hours, and that you often smell like burgers at the end of a shift. But those usually come with the fast-food territory.
