How the Best Workplaces Make Workers’ Lives Easier During Tough Times
SEP 12, 2025 Reposted From: Inc.
BY KAYLA WEBSTER, STAFF EDITOR
Economic uncertainty makes this a challenging time for businesses to stay afloat. The ones that thrive make sure the people they depend on to keep the company running are happy and supported.
That’s the consensus of Inc.’s 2025 Best Workplaces honorees, who gathered this week at the Malin co-working space in New York City’s Flatiron district to celebrate their achievements and talk strategy. Inc.’s Best Workplaces honorees are recognized for going above and beyond standard employee benefits packages.
“What we have are companies that have persevered and figured out how to make a really warm and engaging culture for their employees, even at a time when things like AI or tariffs or hybrid and remote work are making it difficult to lead in the way that we traditionally have,” Mike Hofman, editor-in-chief of Inc., said during a panel discussion.
Of the 514 companies honored this year, 75 percent offer more than eight weeks of paid maternity leave; 90 percent offer paid paternity leave; 93 percent offer flexible hours; 100 percent offer health insurance, and 80 percent provide access to counselors and mental health professionals, according to Sarah Lynch, Inc.’s head of recognition programs.
With the annual inflation rate at 2.9 percent, the highest since January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employees’ paychecks aren’t going as far as they used to. That’s especially true with tariffs driving up the cost of consumer goods, and mass deportations on U.S. farms driving up the price of groceries, Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, recently told CNN.
That’s part of the reason Cedar Lakes Estate, an event space in New York’s Hudson Valley, makes financial wellness a core feature of its benefits offerings — to help employees prepare for the future and create a safety net, co-founder Lisa Karvellas said during the panel. In addition to a 5 percent 401(k) match, Cedar Lakes also helps its employees pay off their student loans by matching every employee’s monthly student loan payment.
Many of Cedar Lakes’ entry-level employees come out of high school or college, so the company arranges for its 401(k) provider to teach onsite financial literacy classes that help them understand why they should contribute to their retirement plan. Separate financial literacy sessions are held in Spanish for employees who learned English as a second language so they can completely understand their options.
“They sit down with them and show them that with our 5 percent match, if they start contributing $100 every pay period at 18, they’ll become a millionaire by the time they’re 30,” Karvellas said. “It really opens their eyes.”
Offering paid leave during major life changes also goes a long way with building employee morale. Ben Lewis, co-founder and CEO of organic baby food company Little Spoon, said his company offers 18 weeks of paid maternity leave and a period to help employees transition back to work. The company also offers leave in the event of miscarriages.
“We know even just from the customers that we serve, parents are strapped for time. They’re stressed,” Lewis said. “So for us, giving parents the space to be able to do what’s best for their families at that time is what we’re all about.”
Financial benefits can also be fun — Sarah Burlew, founder and CEO of Omlie, a Pennsylvania consulting firm, said her company gives every employee $100 every month to do something with a co-worker outside of the office. Burlew has seen employees use the benefit to do everything from spa days to shopping trips to concerts.
