I n homes around the globe, toy bins are filled with small, colorful multi-shaped blocks, which—when snapped together—morph into creations such as a bouquet of wildflowers, a minifigure or an iconic starship from Star Wars. These little bricks, recognizable worldwide as LEGOs, are loved by both children and adults for the endless possibilities they provide—and it all starts with a company culture that encourages curiosity and imagination, says LEGO’s chief people officer Danielle Ottink-van den Broek.

The Denmark-based company believes that employees do their best work when they are playful and positively engaged. To that end, LEGO offers online courses for staff to learn new skills and creates individual development plans for employees considering future career pathways. And as a company that makes products mainly for children, LEGO places an emphasis on family care, offering 26 weeks of paid parental leave for primary caregivers and eight weeks for secondary caregivers. This is all in addition to a full range of healthcare benefits, a hybrid work environment and a host of perks such as an annual company-wide day of play.

“The open and caring culture we build is fundamental to us as a business,” says Ottink-van den Broek. “Colleagues often tell us they value the strong sense of purpose, the chance to make a difference and help bring joyful play experiences to children and fans around the world.”

This nurturing environment, family-forward attitude and focus on creativity helped LEGO earn the No. 10 spot on Forbes’ list of the World’s Best Employers 2026 .

For this seventh-annual ranking, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to survey more than 300,000 employees in more than 50 countries who work for multinational corporations employing more than 1,000 workers. Respondents were asked how likely they’d be to recommend their company to family or friends, and to rate it on such criteria as benefits, talent development, work environment and training opportunities. Participants could also rate previous employers (within the past two years) and companies they knew through their own industry knowledge and through friends and family who worked there.

Survey responses were analyzed and tallied—along with data from the previous three years—with a heavier weight put on the more recent data and on the evaluations from current employees. While the number of honorees per country varied based on the population and qualifying companies in each area, the 900 companies with the highest scores earned a spot on our list.

At the top of the list this year was tech giant Microsoft , ranking No. 1 for the third year in a row, followed by Delta Air Lines , which held its No. 2 spot. The e-commerce platform Shopify , which ranked No. 3 (up from No. 14 in 2025), was followed by Costco at No. 4 (up from No. 12) and Nvidia at No. 5.

One of the most hotly-debated issues across companies on this year’s list is the use of AI in the workplace. In a recent survey conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in which 12,000 workers were asked questions about AI usage and their jobs, around 67% of respondents reported that AI had successfully taken over simple tasks, which freed them to work on more complex projects. But many of these employees (about 66% according to the same survey) reported that they didn’t have guidance from upper management on how to invest the hours they’d reclaimed. The authors of the BCG report outlined that employees benefit from clear direction and insight into the company’s larger vision to help them determine what to do with the time AI may save and to demonstrate the unique value they bring to their job.

The strongest international employers understand that employees need clarity around the company’s shared goals, “access to the capabilities they need, and trust in how they get there,” says Mark Khater, head of the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Strategy and Performance, a research hub within the university’s department of engineering. The best companies, he says, implement common principles for their workforce to follow while giving employees the autonomy to decide how to manage their output.

“The companies that keep their best people start by recognizing that people rarely stay because of compensation alone,” says Khater. “They stay where they can see themselves becoming more capable, more trusted and more consequential.”

This has been the case with Sweden-based Spotify (No. 21), the digital music, podcast and video streaming service. Anna Lundström, the company’s chief human resources officer, says Spotify considers whether each employee is doing work that matters to them while reflecting the company’s core values. “Meaningful work drives purpose, and purpose drives commitment, a great culture and a strong business,” says Lundström.

Coming in at No. 6, Adobe staff work hard on building some of the most innovative and widely used design and video software in the world—and employees are rewarded not only with exciting projects but also with a suite of benefits tailored for each country. In the United States, employees can receive stock awards, paid life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance, 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave, subsidized childcare and up to $10,000 for tuition and certification experience.

“Our mission—to empower everyone to create—inspires us to build a culture where employees can tackle complex technology, innovate, grow their careers and do their best work,” says Rosemary Arriada-Keiper, Adobe’s vice president of the Global Awards program.

Nedbank (No. 26), a South African-based banking system with a presence throughout many African countries, prioritizes an inclusive work culture where staff members are encouraged to consider social causes and to parlay financial expertise into opportunities to help the communities it serves. For instance, Andee Uren, executive head of organizational effectiveness for Nedbank, says employees regularly participate in initiatives including Team Green Day, Women’s Month, Pride Month, DeafBlind Awareness Week and well-being campaigns.

Another factor in Nedbank’s employee engagement, Uren says, is a peer-to-peer recognition program called, “The Nedbank Way,” in which colleagues can acknowledge each other online and celebrate a team’s hard work. In addition, there are formal recognition programs run by leadership and extra rewards for top achievers.

Whether the recognition is formalized or not, Khater notes that having individual employees feel acknowledged and valued for their contributions is key to a company’s success. It’s one thing to attract talent, says Khater, but it’s another to be an organization where workers never want to leave. “The best employers create the conditions where people keep growing, and that growth becomes one of the organization’s core capabilities."

To find more companies around the globe creating these favorable conditions for their employees, see our full list of the World’s Best Employers 2026 .

To produce the seventh edition of the World’s Best Employers, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to survey more than 300,000 employees in more than 50 countries who work for multinational corporations employing more than 1,000 workers. Respondents were asked how likely they’d be to recommend their company to family or friends, and to rate it on such criteria as benefits, talent development, work environment and training opportunities. Participants could also rate previous employers (within the past two years) and companies they knew through their own industry knowledge and through friends and family who worked there.

Survey responses were analyzed and tallied—along with data from the previous three years—with a heavier weight given to the more recent data and on the evaluations from current employees. The corporations that earned the highest scores made our final ranking. And while the number of honorees per country varied based on the population and qualifying companies in each area, ultimately 900 companies, headquartered in 52 countries earned a spot on Forbes ’ 2026 list of the World’s Best Employers.

As with all Forbes lists, companies do not pay to participate or be selected. To read more about how we make these lists, click here . For questions about this list, please email listdesk [at] forbes.com.