What makes a great place to work? Is it compensation? Is it benefits? Company culture? Learning and development opportunities? Inclusion and equity? Is it a combination therein or all of the above?

The model of yesteryear focused mostly on compensation and benefits. Clearly, that’s what people primarily seek in a job, right?

Maybe not.

Or, at least not anymore. Or, at least not entirely.

Yes, money matters and so do things like health insurance and retirement plans. They’re important. But in the era of the Great Resignation (aka Great Reshuffle, Great Attrition, the Big Quit) and Quiet Quitting, there’s much more to the story than paychecks and 401k plans.

Almost 48 million people quit their jobs in 2022 (CNBC) and only 32% of the U.S. workforce is engaged at work (Gallup). According to Gallup:

The overall decline was especially related to clarity of expectations, opportunities to learn and grow, feeling cared about, and a connection to the organization’s mission or purpose – signaling a growing disconnect between employees and their employers.”

Notice the emotional emphasis throughout that quotation. When talking about “expectations,” “feeling,” “connection,” and “purpose,” they’re referring to how people respond emotionally to the experience of a job. It’s not about the nuts and bolts of how well the direct deposit system works. Sure, it could be annoying, if that and other systematic things didn’t work well, but would it really make someone quit or disengage? Not likely. Emotions were the driving force (in the past couple of years at least) behind wanting to leave a job or play an unmotivated role.

It’s been said many times that the pandemic changed how people relate to their jobs. It made many people, who’d been dutifully going about their business prior, realize that days spent in a job that doesn’t serve any purpose other than pay the bills may not be worth it. They figured they could find a different way to make money – even if less – but one that didn’t make them feel like just another cog in the machine.

How did some companies buck the disengagement trend?

Amid the resignation and disengagement trends of 2021-2022, some companies served as a beacon of light for still-hopeful employees who didn’t want to throw in the towel, those who want to love what they do and the companies they do it for. These companies continued to score high in employee retention and satisfaction, people’s willingness to recommend their company, and motivation to give extra effort.

These are the places where today’s top workers want to be because the goal isn’t just to show up and collect a paycheck. These companies inspire a sense of connection and teamwork, a common purpose, a desire to make customers’ lives better even in the smallest ways. These are the sought-after organizations where people arrive to work with a smile on their face, perform productively, have fun with colleagues, and haven’t been stripped of their smile by the time they’re wrapping up the day.

Litmos is one of these places – one that I consider to be a great place to work for many-layered reasons.

Leading job search engine Indeed offers this excellent definition of “a great place to work.”

A great place to work cares about and supports its employees while also challenging them to grow with the company. At these companies, managers and their employees trust and respect each other and have a shared commitment to both individual and company success. Great companies try to meet their employees’ financial, mental, physical and emotional needs. As a result, employees are often more productive, satisfied and willing to stay at the company long term.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

But we can try…

Livin’ the LennyLife in our own words

At Litmos, we’re in that fortunate camp of folks who do love our jobs and feel connected to a purpose, work as a team, and have tons of fun doing it. We also love our mascot, Litmos Lenny, who represents the spirit of the company. He’s smart; he’s savvy; he’s fun; he’s ever-learning and changing for the better. That’s why we use the term LennyLife to describe being a part of such a cool company that cares for us as people, not as “headcount.”

We asked some teammates to define their LennyLife in short videos. It’s amazing how much some of them resonate with the trends mentioned above, from learning and growing, feeling trusted and cared about, having connection and purpose, etc. You can see the full set of videos here, but for the purpose of this blog we’ve highlighted some that really drive home the point of what truly motivates people at work.

Here are real-world reactions to the question: “What’s your LennyLife?”

“My LennyLife is learning and growth… Litmos has fostered an incredible learning environment where I’m constantly learning something new – from the people, the resources, or the business itself. Joining Litmos, you have the opportunity to be a part of that incredible learning setting, where growth is heavily valued.” See video >
~ Michelle, Marketing Intern

“My LennyLife is … coming to work every day with a smile on my face. It’s working for Litmos that allows me to do that. I’m part of a global team… I’ve gained some new skills. I have lots of different opportunities to try new things as well.” See video >
~ Mark, Senior Consultant

“Litmos for me is about the culture and people. I work with a wonderful team who are super talented and supportive. It’s like a family. We look out for each other and we try our best to create the best possible work… I was able to find fulfillment in my career and there were plenty of growth opportunities.” See video >
~ James, Digital Design Manager

“LennyLife to me is all about the people… Everybody is willing to jump in and to help… Everybody genuinely cares about each other and cares about each other’s success.” See video >
~ Matt, Sales Advisory Team

“My LennyLife is the freedom to be myself. Knowing leadership trusts me to get the job done is awesome. But what’s REALLY awesome is they celebrate all the things that make us different.” See video >
~ Ryan, Onboarding Specialist

“Learning and training should be fun. It shouldn’t be difficult… It starts with the platform being fun and easy to use, and it carries over to the people who help stand it up. We help people every single day. We help companies every single day. See video >
~ Tony, Enterprise Sales Professional

“My LennyLife is getting to work with some of the most creative and talented people across the globe, and bringing my passion for helping others to the table.” See video >
~ Lauryn, Director of Sales

“The way I would describe the LennyLife is the fact that it’s collaborative… And I love the fact that I know that we’re so aligned as a team because at the end of the day we really only want to deliver a successful LMS to our customers.” See video >
~ Jennifer, Customer Support Partner

“What LennyLife really means to me is the ability and freedom to go where you need to go in your career… I’ve been able to really find my niche here at Litmos.” See video >
~ Josh, UX Designer

If you want to live the LennyLife, please go to litmos.com/lennylife and hit the Apply Today button, or visit the Litmos careers page.