We often hear that nice guys finish last, or at least that it takes a degree of ruthlessness to make it in corporate America. But a new analysis of the data shows that it might actually be the nice bosses who propel their companies to the greatest heights.

The latest edition of the annual Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list shows that it’s the companies that employees say are great workplaces that demonstrate stronger financial performance, reduced turnover, and better customer and patient satisfaction than their peers. The annual ranking, produced in collaboration with research and consulting firm Great Place to Work, is based on the most extensive employee survey in corporate America. Anonymous input from 315,000 employees on leader quality, support for professional and personal lives and colleague relationships comprise a Trust Index to compare organizations against peers. The companies that make the list are known for their employee satisfaction but, importantly, generate strong business performance year after year.

The outperformance is notable. Global index provider FTSE Russell—which annually analyzes the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list—this year found that an equally-weighted index of the publicly-traded companies among the 100 best returned 11.66% annually from 1998 through the end of 2016, nearly 5% more than the equivalent returns for the benchmark US all-cap Russell 3000 Index (6.72%) and US large cap Russell 1000 Index (6.68%). How can an index outperform the market by 5% annually over nearly 20 years? We believe this can be attributed to art and science.

First, the art. A wide body of research and evidence supports the fact that engaged employees make for happy and successful companies. Caring and high-trust company cultures with a sense of purpose and clarity are consistently associated with strong revenue and stock performance. In their forthcoming book, A Great Place to Work For All, CEO Michael C. Bush and the research team of Great Place to Work argue that leading companies are racing ahead because they bring out the best in every employee, regardless of who they are or what they do for the organization. “Business success relies on developing all your human potential,” Bush and his co-authors write. “Every employee matters in an economy that is about connectivity, innovation, and human qualities like passion, character, and collaboration.”

Great Place to Work’s new methodology—baked into the rankings for this year’s Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list—rewards companies that create a consistently great culture across demographic groups and job levels. Bush and crew also have documented business advantages such as revenue outperformance for these new “Great Place to Work For All.” The way the 2017 Best Companies to Work For tap everyone’s potential may explain the bump in stock performance this past year.

The idea that “when companies take care of employees, employees take care of the business” isn’t new and may seem obvious to some. But as the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For show, it can play a critical role in performance. Don’t underestimate the power of culture.

Next, the science. When FTSE Russell creates its index of the publicly traded Fortune100 Best Companies to Work For, it has a stellar crop of companies to measure. And the 100 Best Index, a hypothetical index created by FTSE Russell specifically for Fortuneand Great Place to Work, is updated each year based on last year’s winners, ensuring it is continually refreshed with strong companies. Yet FTSE Russell takes its analysis a step further by equal weighting and quarterly rebalancing this hypothetical portfolio. Through equal weighting, all constituents are assigned the same index weight, regardless of market capitalization, to ensure that the largest companies don’t have an outsized impact on index performance. Quarterly rebalancing is a way to systematically re-weight the index to adjust for market performance.

Equal weighting with systematic rebalancing has historically delivered strong relative returns over time. In fact, when FTSE Russell performed an attribution analysis with the 100 Best Companies to Work For Index to determine the source of excess return over the broad market, 80% was due to the selection of the 100 Best companies but an additional 20% can be attributed to the equal weighting and quarterly rebalancing methodology of the index.

Investors can benefit from this simple formula. Bring together the art of recognizing cultures that are great for all their people, as well as the science of smart portfolio construction.

Catherine Yoshimoto is Senior Product Manager at global index provider FTSE Russell. Ed Frauenheim is Director of Research and Content at Great Place to Work, FORTUNE’s longtime research partner for the 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Ed also is co-author of the forthcoming book, A Great Place to Work For All.

人们常说人善被人欺，或者说要在美国公司成功，至少需要一定程度的冷酷。然而，新的数据分析显示，推动公司攀上巅峰的实际上可能是那些好老板。

最新一期《财富》100家最适宜工作的公司年度榜单显示，被员工誉为出色工作场所的公司在业绩上的表现强于同类企业，离职率较低，客户/病人的满意度也较高。该年度排名基于对美国上班族的最广泛调查，由《财富》杂志和研究咨询机构卓越工作场所研究院联合编制。31.5万名公司员工以匿名方式提供了他们对领导者素质、专业支持、个人生活以及同事关系的看法，这些原始信息构成了对同类公司进行对比的信任指数。进入该榜单的公司都以员工满意度著称，但要点在于它们每年都能拿出优异的业绩。

突出的表现引人关注。实际上，对这个年度榜单进行分析的是全球指数提供商富时罗素。今年该公司发现，由榜单中上市公司构成的等权重指数从1998年到2016年底的年均回报率为11.66%，比基准指数——罗素3000指数（美国全指，回报率6.72%）和罗素1000指数（大盘股指数，回报率6.68%）高近5个百分点。一个指数如何能在近20年时间里每年都跑赢大盘5%呢？我们相信可以将此归结于艺术和科学。

首先是艺术。大量研究和证据都表明敬业的员工能塑造出快乐而且成功的企业。有爱心并且高度信任的公司文化，再加上目标感和明确感，一直都和强劲的收入与股价表现联系在一起。卓越工作场所研究院首席执行官迈克尔·C·布什及该机构研究团队在他们即将出版的新书《A Great Place to Work For All》中指出，龙头公司走在前列的原因是它们让所有员工都处于最佳状态，无论后者是谁或者在公司担任什么样的工作。布什等作者写道：“企业成功的基础是开发出人的全部潜能。我们的经济特色是连通性、创新以及热情、个性、合作等人的素质，在这里，每一位员工都很重要。”

今年的《财富》100家最适宜工作的公司名单以卓越工作场所研究院的新方法为排名依据，该方法给予高分公司能够培育出跨越年龄段和职务级别的一贯伟大的文化。布什和同事们还在书中谈到了这些新的“适宜所有人的出色工作场所”的经营优势，比如收入方面的卓越表现。本次上榜公司开发每个人潜力的方式也许可以解释过去一年其股价的起伏。

“企业照顾员工，员工就会照顾生意”并非新观点，而且对有些人来说可能显而易见。但正如本次榜单所示，这样的观念可能在公司业绩中发挥关键作用。别低估了文化的力量。

其次是科学。富时罗素编制《财富》100家最适宜工作的公司指数时，有一大批公司可以衡量。这个由富时罗素专门为《财富》和卓越工作场所研究院创立的假设性指数每年都会基于上一年的榜单进行更新，以确保总是有强大的公司补充进来。同时，通过采用同等权重和对这些假设性成分股进行季度再平衡，富时罗素让自己的分析更加的深入。同等权重即赋予所有成分股同样的指数权重，无论市值大小，从而确保那些最大的公司不会对指数走势产生过大影响。季度再平衡则是系统性地重新计算该指数的加权，以便按照市场表现进行调整。

以往的同等权重和系统性再平衡带来了较高的长期回报。实际上，富时罗素曾对《财富》100家最适宜工作的公司指数进行归因分析，目的是找到其回报高于大盘的原因，结果发现80%的原因是选股，另外20%的原因则是该指数采用的同等权重和季度再平衡方法。

这样的简单模式可以让投资者受益。大家可以把发现对所有人都大有裨益的文化的艺术和聪明地构建投资仓位的科学结合在一起。（财富中文网）

凯瑟琳·吉本在全球指数提供商富时罗素担任高级产品经理。艾德·弗劳恩海姆是卓越工作场所研究院研究和内容主管，该研究院就100家最适宜工作的公司榜单长期和《财富》杂志进行研究合作。艾德还跟别人联合撰写了即将出版的新书《A Great Place to Work For All》。

译者：Charlie

审校：夏林