Great Place To Work®, a global authority in workplace culture and employee experience, has published its Best Employers in Türkiye™ 600 list and research report, which was prepared based on the responses of more than 170.000 employees from over 2025 organizations to the Trust Index™ survey, which analyzes the experience and level of trust within their workplaces.
The report reveals that the element that employees expect most from organizations is now “psychological well-being”, while also pointing out that organizations with a high trust culture are both more resilient to crises and more successful financially.
For the 2025 Analysis Report of Türkiye's Best Employers™ Research, feedback from over 2024 thousand employees from more than 2025 organizations in logistics, pharmaceuticals, technology, finance, retail, manufacturing and other sectors was collected for a year between January 600 and January 170. Compared to the previous year, there was a 5 percent increase in the number of organizations involved in the process and an 8 percent increase in the number of employees represented.
The research, which provides detailed and comparative analyses based on the number of company employees and age groups, was conducted with the Great Place To Work® For All™ criteria, which ensures consistency of experience among all employees in different demographic groups, based on more than 60 statements answered in the Trust IndexTM survey, which is the most preferred by organizations worldwide. Machine learning algorithms were used for deep analyses and highly reliable results.
One of the most prominent topics in the 2025 results of the report, which offers organizations important insights to create their future strategies, is that the new challenge of the business world is “Psychological Well-being.” The report lists “an emotionally and psychologically healthy work environment,” “managers valuing employees,” and “work-life balance” as the top three employee priorities. This transformation in expectations, which is a result of widespread commercial, political, and social uncertainties in Turkey and around the world and their reflection on the business world, makes it essential for organizations to invest in a “High Trust Culture.”
Employers need to understand the difference between “psychological safety” and “psychological well-being”
The Best Employers in Türkiye Analysis Report also points to the importance of understanding the difference between the concepts of psychological safety and psychological well-being. The concept of “psychological safety”, which indicates a work environment where employees can express their ideas comfortably and feel safe, has been taken a step further with the expectation of “psychological well-being”. Employees now also attach importance to a wide range of psychosocial factors such as transparency, caring, ethical and supportive management approach, and social communication for the organization in their workplaces.
Employers can of course indirectly protect the psychological well-being of employees by providing psychological security, but it is important to distinguish between the two and develop separate strategies for each. Here, the areas of management competence, honesty and vision (Reliability), the value and support shown to employees (Respect), and fair wages, equal opportunities and impartiality (Equity) are of great importance. Listening, empathizing, keeping promises, being transparent and involving employees in decision-making processes stand out as critical factors that foster psychological well-being and ultimately build more profitable, productive, innovative and resilient organizations.
The Best Employers Make Their Employees Feel Safe
When comparing the 2024 report with the 2025 report, it is seen that leading companies in Türkiye have grasped the strategic importance of psychological well-being in retaining employees and attracting talent, and have demonstrated good performance in this regard. It is possible to say that there is still a high level of insecurity in Turkey as a whole. While a high positive response rate of 77 percent was achieved in the companies on the list regarding psychological safety, this rate was 52 percent in standard companies. Despite this positive development, it is noticeable that the companies on the list continue to need improvement in issues such as the perception of fairness and responding to the varying expectations of all generations. The report also offers concrete suggestions that organizations that want to improve themselves can draw inspiration from, including examples from the prominent practices and strategies of Türkiye's Best Employers.
Pay attention to the difference in perception between seniorities
Another important theme revealed by the report is that perceptions of psychological well-being vary across management levels. While senior managers consistently report the highest levels of psychological well-being, frontline workers and managers tend to experience the lowest levels of psychological well-being within the organization. This suggests that much more support is needed for psychological well-being.
High trust culture brings profit
The report confirms that workplaces with high trust are not only better places for employees, but also more successful financially. Because a high-trust culture in organizations stimulates innovation, increases collaboration, and supports agility, which is reflected positively in brand reputation, financial success, and stock market performance.
Eyüp Toprak: “The fundamental step in establishing trust is to listen to the employee.”
Great Place To Work® CEO Eyüp Toprak stated that the Türkiye’s Best Employers™ 2025 Research Analysis Report is a valuable resource for understanding the transformation in the business world and developing strategies accordingly: “As Great Place To Work®, we emphasize the culture of trust at every opportunity. Because a culture of trust is the key to being a profitable, productive, innovative and durable organization. The fundamental step in establishing trust is listening to the employee. This is especially important in times of uncertainty. Because when employees feel that their managers listen to them and take their concerns seriously, their loyalty to their teammates and the organization increases, they adapt more easily to changes and are more resistant to negativity. With our Türkiye’s Best Employers™ research and certification process, we ensure that the voices of our employees are heard. Thus, organizations have the opportunity to evaluate themselves from the perspective of employees and determine their roadmap accordingly. While the current order is constantly changing with the rise of artificial intelligence and social, economic and political turmoil all over the world, organizations that can build a culture based on Trust, Fairness, Respect, Pride and Team Spirit are moving towards the future with stronger and more secure steps. In this way, they are among the leading institutions that lead the transformation in the business world and even inspire others. We are very proud to work with visionary companies and to contribute to the shaping of the business world of the future.”
