How TIME and Statista Determined the Best Employers of 2026

TIME and Statista have unveiled the second annual "Best Employers" ranking, a study that aims to showcase which companies are truly exceptional at attracting and retaining talent. The research, conducted across Brazil, India, and Australia, focuses on employee workplace satisfaction and its impact on company culture, productivity, innovation, profitability, and industry reputation.

To ensure the data was representative, the surveys were carried out through multiple online panels in each country. In Australia, 200,000 evaluations were collected from companies with at least 200 employees, while India saw 760,000 evaluations from firms with 500 or more employees. Brazil was the most scrutinized, with over 900,000 evaluations from companies employing 500 or more people.

Participants were asked to name their current employer using an open-ended question with an auto-complete function. This approach guarantees neutrality and prevents companies from influencing the selection of respondents. The data was then scored based on two types of evaluations: employees' willingness to recommend their own employer (direct score) and their willingness to recommend other employers within the same industry (indirect perception score), using data from 2025 and 2026.

The direct score was determined by asking respondents to rate their willingness to recommend their employer to friends and family on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 meaning "I wouldn’t recommend my employer under any circumstances" and 10 meaning "I would definitely recommend my employer". The indirect score was calculated by evaluating employees' willingness to recommend other employers within their industry, with response options including "would recommend", "would not recommend", and "no opinion".

Additionally, an open-ended question allowed respondents to name other employers, providing further insight into their perception of the industry landscape.