Depending on which study results you stumble upon, somewhere between 60 percent and almost 90 percent of Americans don’t like their jobs. And somewhere between 1 million and 1.4 million people call in sick every day. Sure, a percentage of those people probably have the flu, migraines or other ailments, but many of them likely have a serious case of Ihatemyjobitis.
Book Business’ first annual study on the “20 Best Book Publishing Companies to Work For” explores which companies in the industry rank highest among their employees for overall job satisfaction. Each company that was nominated by its employees was rated based on a number of different factors, such as pride in company performance and reputation; fairness and openness of company management; workload; and respect for employees’ personal lives, among others. The profiles below show how each company ranked for certain factors. For example, some companies ranked highest in “respect for employee personal life,” but may have ranked lower for “satisfying benefits package.”
So, depending on what your priorities are, you might find a company more appealing if it has a lower benefits ranking, but a higher ranking for personal-professional-life balance. Or, maybe you want a company with a great benefits package and lots of growth opportunity. The following profiles can help you evaluate each company’s performance rating in each area, as well as to see specific reasons why employees feel their companies are great to work for.
1 Random House Inc.
New York
www.RandomHouse.com
The world’s largest English-language trade book publisher. Random House Inc. is the U.S. division of Random House, the book division of Bertelsmann AG, one of the world’s leading media companies. Its imprints include the Bantam Dell Publishing Group, Crown Publishing Group, Doubleday Broadway, Knopf Publishing Group, Random House Publishing Group and Random House Children’s Books, among others.
➜ Overall Rating: 96.5 (out of 100)
Company size: Large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 9.7 (out of 10)
Overall Job Satisfaction: 9.7
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 9.9
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 9.6
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 9.6
Fair, Open Management Style: 9.3
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 10.0
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 9.5
Personal Benefits (Overall): 9.7
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 9.5
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 10.0
Satisfying Benefits Package: 10.0
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• staff autonomy
• considers employees’ work-life balance
• benefits package
• company’s position in marketplace
2 Business 21 Publishing LLC
Springfield, Pa.
www.B21Pubs.com
A provider of practical business intelligence for human resources, safety, finance and sales through products and services, including newsletters, audio conferences, reports and guides, training programs and more.
➜ Overall Rating: 96.3
Company size: Medium
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 9.8
Overall Job Satisfaction: 9.8
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 9.5
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 10.0
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 9.7
Fair, Open Management Style: 9.7
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 9.6
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 9.8
Personal Benefits (Overall): 9.1
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 9.3
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.3
Satisfying Benefits Package: 8.0
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• encourages ideas
• strong company goals
• team environment that “plays to win”
3 Rodale Inc.
Emmaus, Pa. (headquarters); New York
www.Rodale.com
Publisher of content in health, fitness and wellness worldwide. Rodale is the largest independent book publisher in America with a collection of international titles, including “The South Beach Diet” and “The Abs Diet” franchises. It also publishes some of the best-known health and wellness lifestyle magazines. Its media platforms include magazines, books, video and Web sites.
➜ Overall Rating: 93.2
Company size: Large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 9.8
Overall Job Satisfaction: 9.5
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 10.0
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 9.8
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 9.1
Fair, Open Management Style: 8.6
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 9.8
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 8.8
Personal Benefits (Overall): 9.4
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 8.7
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.7
Satisfying Benefits Package: 9.8
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• benefits such as free gym, flex schedules, fair pay
• company’s mission
• hires top talent
4 Meredith Corp.
Des Moines, Iowa (headquarters); New York; Chicago; Los Angeles; San Francisco
www.Meredith.com
A media and marketing company with businesses centering on magazine and book publishing, television broadcasting, integrated marketing and interactive media. Meredith has approximately 400 books in print. It also publishes magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle and Ladies’ Home Journal, and approximately 200 special-interest publications.
➜ Overall Rating: 88.9
Company size: Large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 9.5
Overall Job Satisfaction: 8.7
Reputation, Performance & Pride: 10.0
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 9.8
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 8.2
Fair, Open Management Style: 8.3
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 7.6
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 8.9
Personal Benefits (Overall): 9.1
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 8.3
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.7
Satisfying Benefits Package: 9.1
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• advancement opportunities
• supportive environment among co-workers
• pride in company brand
5 State University of New York (SUNY) Press
Albany, N.Y.
www.SUNYPress.edu
Publishes scholarly and trade books in the humanities and social sciences, and has attained national recognition in the areas of education, philosophy, religion, Jewish studies, Asian studies, political science and sociology, with increasing growth in the areas of literature, film studies, communication, women’s studies and environmental studies. SUNY Press has an annual output of approximately 200 books and a backlist of 3,400+ titles.
➜ Overall Rating: 88.9*
Company size: Small
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 9.2
Overall Job Satisfaction: 8.8
Reputation, Performance & Pride: 9.3
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 9.3
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 9.2
Fair, Open Management Style: 8.7
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 9.8
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 9.1
Personal Benefits (Overall): 8.7
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 7.6
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 8.7
Satisfying Benefits Package: 9.1
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• pride in contribution to academics
• variety of titles published
• casual, collegiate environment
*SUNY’s rating score was a few hundredths of a point behind Meredith’s, so when rounded up to the nearest tenth, both company’s rankings are 88.9.
6 Consumers Union
Yonkers, N.Y.
www.ConsumersUnion.org
An expert, independent, nonprofit organization, whose mission is to work for a fair, just and safe marketplace for all consumers. Consumers Union publishes Consumer Reports and ConsumerReports.org in addition to two newsletters, with combined subscriptions of more than 7 million. It publishes trade books including a number of annual buying guides and reference books, as well as revised editions of existing buying guides.
➜ Overall Rating: 88.3
Company size: Large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 9.3
Overall Job Satisfaction: 9.3
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 9.3
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 9.1
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 8.3
Fair, Open Management Style: 8.3
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 8.0
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 8.7
Personal Benefits (Overall): 8.9
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 8.3
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.0
Satisfying Benefits Package: 9.3
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• pride in the company’s success, mission and integrity
• 13 paid holidays
• employees can buy test products at significant discounts
• free employee fitness center
7 Oxford University Press USA
New York; Cary, N.C.
www.OUP.com/US
Oxford University Press USA (OUP USA) is Oxford University Press’s second major publishing center, after Oxford, United Kingdom. It produces approximately 500 titles annually, has 3,300 scholarly books in print and stocks another 8,700 imports from other OUP offices around the world. OUP USA employs almost 500 people in the United States, evenly divided between its offices in New York City and the Research Triangle area of North Carolina.
➜ Overall Rating: 87.8
Company size: Medium/large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 8.9
Overall Job Satisfaction: 9.0
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 9.2
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 8.7
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 8.9
Fair, Open Management Style: 8.3
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 9.8
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 8.6
Personal Benefits (Overall): 8.3
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 8.1
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.3
Satisfying Benefits Package: 8.0
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• a positive learning environment
• great leadership
• passionate people committed to publishing
8 BowTie Inc./BowTie Press
BowTie Press: Irvine, Calif.
Bowtie Inc.: New York; Chicago; Los Angeles; Irvine, Calif.; Honolulu; and Lexington, Ky.
www.BowTieInc.com
BowTie Press is the book division of BowTie Inc., the largest publisher of pet magazines such as Cat Fancy and Dog Fancy, as well as the AnimalNetwork.com Web site. BowTie Press publishes Kennel Club Books and animal care books—from dogs and cats to sheep, chickens and cockatiels—among many others.
➜ Overall Rating: 87.7
Company size: Medium/large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 8.9
Overall Job Satisfaction: 9.3
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 8.8
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 8.7
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 8.7
Fair, Open Management Style: 8.1
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 9.8
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 8.1
Personal Benefits (Overall): 8.5
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 8.4
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.3
Satisfying Benefits Package: 8.4
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• company strives for employees’ professional growth, shares knowledge
• opportunities for advancement
• job security
9 Pearson/Pearson Education
New York; London; Upper Saddle River, N.J.
www.Pearson.com
www.PearsonEd.com
Pearson is an international media company with businesses in education, business information and consumer publishing. Pearson Education, a division of Pearson, is a global leader in educational publishing. Its brands include Prentice Hall, Longman, Scott Foresman, Addison Wesley and Benjamin Cummings, among others. Pearson’s other primary operations include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.
➜ Overall Rating: 86.2
Company size: Large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 9.0
Overall Job Satisfaction: 8.6
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 9.7
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 8.8
Fair & Open Work Environment: 8.3
Fair, Open Management Style: 7.8
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 9.0
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 8.3
Personal Benefits (Overall): 8.6
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 8.1
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.2
Satisfying Benefits Package: 9.0
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• encourages personal/professional growth
• advancement opportunities
• flex time, summer hours
• team spirit
• pride in company’s success, and investment in technologies and talent to define the future of global learning
10 Columbia University Press
New York
www.Columbia.edu/cu/cup
The fourth-oldest university press in the United States. It currently publishes 150 new titles annually in the fields of history, religion, philosophy, international affairs, Asian studies, science, environmental sciences, neuroscience, paleobiology, literary studies, culinary history, film, political theory, economics, finance, New York City
interest and social work. Columbia University Press titles are sold around the world.
➜ Overall Rating: 86.1
Company size: Medium
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 9.1
Overall Job Satisfaction: 9.0
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 9.2
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 9.1
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 8.7
Fair, Open Management Style: 8.1
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 9.6
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 8.6
Personal Benefits (Overall): 8.2
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 6.8
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 8.7
Satisfying Benefits Package: 8.7
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• pride in company mission
• pride in company’s brand, products and ability to attract top talent
• great working environment, minimal office politics
11 Lerner Publishing Group
Minneapolis, Minn.
www.LernerBooks.com
One of the nation’s largest independently owned children’s book publishers, with 3,500+ nonfiction and fiction titles in print, including photo-illustrated informational books; supplementary titles; picture books, chapter books and intermediate and young-adult novels. Its imprints include Lerner Publications, Millbrook Press, Carolrhoda Books, Graphic Universe, Twenty-First Century Books, ediciones Lerner and LernerClassroom.
➜ Overall Rating: 85.6
Company size: Medium/large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 8.9
Overall Job Satisfaction: 9.2
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 9.2
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 8.4
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 8.5
Fair, Open Management Style: 8.4
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 8.9
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 8.2
Personal Benefits (Overall): 7.7
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 7.3
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.0
Satisfying Benefits Package: 7.3
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• team environment, high level of trust
• focus on improvement
• focus on change without loss of job security
12 Prestwick House Inc.
Clayton, Del.
www.PrestwickHouse.com
An educational publisher with 2,500+ books in print dedicated to helping teachers of all levels of English and language arts. Its products range from award-winning annotated adaptations to title-specific teaching guides, to a line of paperback books—Literary Touchstone Classics.
➜ Overall Rating: 85.4
Company size: Small
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 8.9
Overall Job Satisfaction: 8.8
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 8.8
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 9.0
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 8.1
Fair, Open Management Style: 7.8
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 8.5
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 8.0
Personal Benefits (Overall): 8.8
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 8.5
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.0
Satisfying Benefits Package: 8.8
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• team commitment to shared goals, family-like support
• laid-back, fun environment, but still goal-oriented
13 The University of Chicago Press
Chicago, Ill.
www.Press.UChicago.edu
Its Books Division publishes approximately 250 books each year and has 5,300+ books in print. The Journals Division publishes 43 journals and 5 annuals. The Distribution Services Division provides warehousing and related services to 40 publishers at the Chicago Distribution Center. Its new Chicago Digital Distribution Center provides digital printing services and the BiblioVault repository for digital book files.
➜ Overall Rating: 84.7
Company size: Medium/large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 8.9
Overall Job Satisfaction: 8.6
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 9.6
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 8.5
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 7.8
Fair, Open Management Style: 7.2
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 8.2
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 8.1
Personal Benefits (Overall): 8.4
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 7.8
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.5
Satisfying Benefits Package: 8.8
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• pride in company’s distinguished reputation and work
• technologically advanced
• intelligent, understanding management
14 John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Hoboken, N.J. (headquarters)
www.Wiley.com
Publishes print and electronic professional/trade books, textbooks and other educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students, and lifelong learners. Its scientific, technical and medical (STM) programs encompass journals, encyclopedias and electronic products in subjects such as the life and medical sciences, chemistry, statistics and mathematics, electrical and electronics engineering, and select medical areas.
➜ Overall Rating: 84.1
Company size: Large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 8.6
Overall Job Satisfaction: 8.4
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 8.9
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 8.5
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall):: 8.2
Fair, Open Management Style: 7.7
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 8.6
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 8.2
Personal Benefits (Overall): 8.6
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 8.1
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.3
Satisfying Benefits Package: 9.3
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• 35-hour work week
• great benefits
• supports employees in times of need, offers flexibility
• management is open regarding company finances and long-term goals
15 The Jewish Publication Society
Philadelphia
www.JewishPub.org
A membership organization and the oldest publisher of English-language Jewish titles. Its titles include biographies, histories, art books, holiday anthologies, books for young readers, religious and philosophical studies, and translations of scholarly and popular classics.
➜ Overall Rating: 84.0
Company size: Small
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 8.6
Overall Job Satisfaction: 8.5
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 8.0
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 9.3
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 8.2
Fair, Open Management Style: 7.7
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 7.8
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 9.0
Personal Benefits (Overall): 8.3
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 7.5
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.5
Satisfying Benefits Package: 8.2
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• flexible work hours
• team environment
• pride in products
16 Reed Business Information
New York (headquarters)
www.ReedBusiness.com
The largest business-to-business publisher in the United States, serving the media, manufacturing, electronics, construction and retail industries with 80+ market-
leading b-to-b publications, 55 webzines and Web portals, custom publishing, directories and how-to books, research and direct-
marketing lists. Reed Business Information–US is a business unit of Reed Business, the
b-to-b division of Reed Elsevier.
➜ Overall Rating: 83.5
Company size: Large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 9.0
Overall Job Satisfaction: 8.8
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 9.4
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 8.7
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 8.0
Fair, Open Management Style: 7.5
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 8.3
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 8.3
Personal Benefits (Overall): 8.5
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 7.0
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 8.4
Satisfying Benefits Package: 9.7
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• great benefits package
• encouraging environment
• forward-thinking management
• employees feel their contributions are valued
17 Scholastic Inc.
New York (headquarters)
www.Scholastic.com
The world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books for use in school and at home. In addition to children’s books, Scholastic also produces magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys.
➜ Overall Rating:: 82.8
Company size: Large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 8.4
Overall Job Satisfaction: 8.2
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 8.7
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 8.2
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 8.4
Fair, Open Management Style: 7.8
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 10.0
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 7.3
Personal Benefits (Overall): 8.4
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 7.6
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.7
Satisfying Benefits Package: 9.3
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• learning and advancement opportunities
• staff committed to and proud of mission of helping children read and learn
• flexible to employees’ needs and schedules
18 The Taunton Press
Newtown, Conn. (headquarters)
www.Taunton.com
A privately held, family-run publishing company that provides information and inspiration on the house and home, including home building and design, gardening, woodworking, fiber arts and cooking. Publishes books (such as “The Face of Home” and “Organizing Idea Book”), magazines (such as Fine Woodworking, Fine Cooking and Fine Gardening), DVDs and Web sites.
➜ Overall Rating: 82.6
Company size: Medium/large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 8.8
Overall Job Satisfaction: 8.4
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 9.5
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 8.6
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 7.9
Fair, Open Management Style: 7.3
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 8.8
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 7.7
Personal Benefits (Overall): 8.0
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 7.8
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 8.7
Satisfying Benefits Package: 7.6
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• pride in company products
• great on-the-job experiences, growth opportunities
• team environment
19 Meister Media Worldwide
Willoughby, Ohio
www.MeisterMedia.com
A communication and information center for worldwide specialized agriculture that provides how-to information through multimedia services, including magazines, Web tools, special events/seminars, awards programs and sponsorships, CDs and DVDs, books/manuals, custom publishing, e-newsletters and more.
➜ Overall Rating: 80.0
Company size: Medium/large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 8.2
Overall Job Satisfaction: 8.2
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 8.3
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 8.0
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 8.1
Fair, Open Management Style: 8.2
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 8.4
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 7.7
Personal Benefits (Overall): 7.4
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 7.0
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 8.7
Satisfying Benefits Package: 7.1
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• nice building and work environment
• flexible work hours
• clear focus on goals and strategies for achieving them
• respect for employees
20 F.A. Davis Company
Philadelphia
www.FADavis.com
An independently owned healthcare publisher. Publishes textbooks, references and educational software in nursing, medicine and the health professions. Among its top-selling titles are “Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary,” the best-selling healthcare dictionary for 65+ years, and “Davis’s Drug Guide for Nurses.” It also publishes in other health professions, including physical and occupational therapy, athletic training, clinical lab sciences, medical assisting, respiratory therapy and surgical technology.
➜ Overall Rating: 79.4
Company size: Medium/large
Satisfying, High-Performance Company (Overall): 8.2
Overall Job Satisfaction: 8.1
Company Reputation, Performance & Pride: 8.4
Supportive Employees & Team Spirit: 8.1
Fair & Open Work Environment (Overall): 7.9
Fair, Open Management Style: 7.8
Equal Opportunity to Succeed: 8.7
Personal Initiative, Shared Goals: 7.4
Personal Benefits (Overall): 7.6
Realistic Workload/Supportive Company: 6.6
Respect for Employee Personal Life: 9.2
Satisfying Benefits Package: 7.9
Among Reasons It Was Nominated:
• leadership is encouraging/supportive of employees
• pride in products
• entrepreneurial spirit
• non-corporate culture