A new study has ranked Octopus Energy as the best company to work for in the UK, based on employee feedback. The research, conducted by employee development platform Zensai, analysed company review data from Glassdoor for 206 UK-based companies with over 100 reviews. The rankings were determined by eight key factors, including company culture, work-life balance, and diversity, each weighted to create an index score out of 100.
Octopus Energy, a renewable energy provider founded in 2015, emerged as the top-ranked employer with a score of 87.16. The company’s strong ratings in categories such as culture and values (4.56) and diversity and inclusion (4.55) helped it secure first place. Additionally, 86% of Octopus Energy’s employees said they would recommend the company to a friend.
Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm, took second place with a score of 85.92. Despite having the highest percentage of employees (92%) who would recommend the company, Bain received its lowest rating for work-life balance, scoring 3.40 in this category. Mastercard, meanwhile, secured third place with an index score of 82.00. Employees rated the company highly for diversity and inclusion (4.40) and work-life balance (4.31), though the senior management category received a lower score of 3.96.
Top 10 best companies to work for in the UK
| Rank | Company | Index (/100) |
| 1 | Octopus Energy | 87.16 |
| 2 | Bain & Company | 85.92 |
| 3 | Mastercard | 82.00 |
| 4 | Salesforce | 81.93 |
| 5 | Workday | 81.82 |
| 6 | Arm | 80.89 |
| 7 | 80.30 | |
| 8 | ServiceNow | 79.94 |
| 9 | SAP | 79.73 |
| 10 | Red Bull | 78.99 |
Salesforce and Workday took fourth and fifth places, respectively. Salesforce achieved a score of 81.93, with its compensation and benefits rated highly (4.41). However, the software company’s leadership scored lower, with a rating of 3.87 for senior management. Workday followed closely behind with an index score of 81.82. It performed well in diversity and inclusion (4.50) and culture and values (4.45), but scored slightly lower for career opportunities (3.96).
Other companies that made it into the top ten include Arm, Google, ServiceNow, SAP, and Red Bull. Google ranked seventh with a score of 80.30. While employees praised the company for its compensation and benefits (4.39), they were less satisfied with senior management, giving it a rating of 3.82.
ServiceNow, ranking eighth, had an index score of 79.94, with 81% of employees saying they would recommend the company to a friend. SAP and Red Bull rounded out the top ten. SAP’s highest-rated category was compensation and benefits (4.40), while Red Bull had the highest recommendation rate in the top ten, with 91% of employees saying they would endorse the company to a friend.
Commenting on the findings, Rasmus Holst, CEO of Zensai, said: “It’s inspiring to see companies like Octopus Energy and Bain & Company creating environments where employees thrive. It’s also noteworthy that so many tech and software firms feature prominently on this list, reflecting the sector’s strong focus on employee well-being.”
Holst added that while salary remains an important factor, the study shows that employees place significant value on culture, work-life balance, and diversity. “These factors not only enhance employee satisfaction but also contribute to overall company success. We hope this study encourages more organisations to prioritise what matters most to their employees,” he said.