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September 17, 2026 Taylor Jones

2026 Top Workplaces for Appreciation Winners

Appreciation shapes how employees feel about the work they do, the people they work with, and the organization they’re part of.

The Top Workplaces for Appreciation Award recognizes organizations where employees feel genuinely valued for their contributions, based on feedback from the people who experience the culture every day.

Bucketlist Rewards is proud to partner with Energage to celebrate workplaces that are making appreciation a meaningful part of the employee experience.

Why Appreciation Matters in 2026

Appreciation can influence far more than how employees feel in a single moment. When recognition is consistent and meaningful, it can strengthen engagement, satisfaction, and employees’ connection to their organization.

Bucketlist’s research has found that employees who receive recognition from their leaders every week are 21% more likely to be engaged at work and 28% more likely to be satisfied with their organization. They also report 47% lower turnover intentions than employees who receive leader recognition less frequently.

The research also found that employees recognized monthly or more by their leaders reported higher satisfaction and were less likely to consider leaving, reinforcing the role consistent appreciation can play in the day-to-day employee experience.

That connection between appreciation and the employee experience is what makes the Top Workplaces for Appreciation Award particularly meaningful.

The organizations recognized this year aren’t being evaluated based on the programs they say they have in place. They’re being recognized based on whether their employees say they feel genuinely appreciated.

2026 Top Workplaces for Appreciation at a Glance

This year 1,700+ organizations earned recognition as a 2026 Top Workplace for Appreciation.

The winners span organizations of every size represented in the program:

Employee Size	2026 Winners
35–149 employees	526
150–499 employees	723
500–999 employees	263
1,000–2,499 employees	156
2,500+ employees	62

From organizations with fewer than 150 employees to employers with workforces in the thousands, the 2026 winners show that creating a workplace where people feel appreciated isn’t limited to one type or size of organization.

How Top Workplaces for Appreciation Winners are Determined

The Top Workplaces for Appreciation Award is based on confidential employee feedback administered and analyzed by Energage.

Employees are asked whether they feel genuinely appreciated, giving the people who experience the workplace every day a direct voice in determining which organizations are recognized.

To help ensure organizations are evaluated fairly, Energage groups employers by size and evaluates the strength of their employee feedback against established benchmarks. Those benchmarks are built from approximately 30 million employee responses collected over 20 years. Survey results are considered valid only when the required employee participation threshold is reached.

The award cannot be bought. There is no cost for employers to survey their employees, and winners are under no obligation to purchase a product or service from Energage. Energage also runs tests on survey feedback and may disqualify an organization if the results indicate employees were pressured to respond positively.

Earning a Top Workplaces award is a celebration of excellence. It serves as a reminder of the vital role a people-first workplace experience plays in achieving success.

— Eric Rubino, CEO, Energage

Celebrating the 2026 Top Workplaces for Appreciation

The organizations recognized this year differ in size, industry, location, and the work their employees do.

What connects them is the experience their employees reported: they feel appreciated for the contributions they make.

Creating that kind of workplace rarely comes down to a single program or moment of recognition. It comes from the everyday experiences that show employees their effort is noticed, their contributions have value, and the work they do matters.

We’re proud to celebrate the organizations putting that into practice.

Explore the 2026 Top Workplaces for Appreciation Winners

Jump to: 35–149 employees | 150–499 employees | 500–999 employees | 1,000–2,499 employees | 2,500+ employees

35-149 employees

150-499 employees

500-999 employees

1,000-2,499 employees

2,500+ employees

Congratulations to the 2026 Top Workplaces for Appreciation

Congratulations to every organization recognized as a 2026 Top Workplace for Appreciation.

Building a workplace where people feel genuinely appreciated happens through the everyday moments that show employees their effort and contributions matter.

We’re proud to celebrate the organizations putting that into practice and helping create workplaces where people know the work they do is valued.

Ready to strengthen appreciation across your workplace?

See how Bucketlist helps organizations make recognition more consistent, meaningful, and easy to scale.

Book a demo with Bucketlist

Written By

Taylor Jones

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