The ranking of the best companies to work for by the CofaceBDi group for 2026, published for the 22nd year, shows stability at the very top alongside worrying upheavals below the surface. This year, no fewer than 30 companies from the high-tech and technology sector entered the list, making it the largest and most dominant sector in the ranking.

While first place remains tightly held for the third consecutive year by Nvidia, second place registers local drama with a six-place leap by Israel Aerospace Industries, which precedes giants like Google and Microsoft. However, the comprehensive survey, which is based on hundreds of companies and hundreds of thousands of employees, reveals that despite 73.4% of respondents being satisfied with management's performance, the Israeli labor market is facing an acute burnout crisis and a complex gap in the adoption of AI technologies.

The turnaround at the top and the full list: Who closes the top ten?

The company that snatches first place and, as mentioned, maintains the lead for the third consecutive year is Nvidia Israel. Immediately after it, in second place, stands Israel Aerospace Industries, which rose six places compared to last year. In third and fourth places are ranked tech giants Google and Microsoft respectively. In fifth place was ranked Applied Materials Israel, which provides equipment in the semiconductor field, in sixth place Bitachon Yashir won, in seventh place Elbit Systems, in eighth place the software company SAP, in ninth place Check Point, and in tenth place the Israel Electric Corporation.

According to Roy Minkov, CEO of the CofaceBDi group: "The ranking of the best companies to work for seeks to examine not only where employees are satisfied today, but in which organizations they would choose again tomorrow. In a world where technology, products, and business models can be copied quickly, the advantage that is truly difficult to replicate is the ability to build trust, organizational culture, and a sense of belonging over time. Ultimately, a leading workplace is one that succeeds in making its employees say 'yes' to it again. The ranking list reflects the commitment of organizations to listen to their employees, learn from them, and continuously examine how to build a better workplace."

Roy Minkov, CEO of the CofaceBDi group
Roy Minkov, CEO of the CofaceBDi group (credit: Oz Shechter)

Labor relations at the top, alongside burnout of 43% of employees

As part of the ranking, which is based on hundreds of companies and hundreds of thousands of employees, participants point to their level of satisfaction at work through 12 variables. The top four variables remained identical to last year: In first place labor relations, in second place direct supervisor management, in third place employment stability, and in fourth place professional challenge and interest. At the same time, the self-fulfillment parameter rose to fifth place, and the company's resilience parameter dropped to sixth place.

In accordance with the high position attributed to direct supervisor management – it was also found that many employees feel they have a close relationship with their manager: 77.6% reported that the manager knows them as a person, and 69.5% reported that they feel they have an address for mental stress at work.

According to Roy Minkov, CEO of the CofaceBDi group: "When looking at what employees put at the top of their priorities, you see a very clear picture. Even in an era of AI, technological change, new models of work, and uncertainty – the core remains human. That is, employees are not just asking for conditions or benefits. They are asking for a relationship that can be trusted."

High-tech employees: A gap between training and actual use of AI Among high-tech employees, a significant gap is evident between the actual use of AI tools and the formal training they received: The gap in this sector is the highest – 74.1% testified that they use AI tools as part of their daily work, while only 45.6% testified that they received orderly training for using artificial intelligence tools. This is compared to employees in the rest of the sectors in the economy, where the percentage of daily use of AI tools is 42.7%, and out of them 57.2% received training, compared to 42.8% who did not receive it.