Fortune ranks Publix as 12th best company to work for in U.S.

Publix, where working is a pleasure?

It is, according to the popular business-magazine Fortune, which named Publix the best big company — having at least 100,000 employees — to work for in the U.S., as well as the 12th best company to work for overall.

The new rankings are a part of an annual study produced by the magazine, which ranked Publix 47th overall last year. The 35-place jump means the Lakeland-based company now trails only Wegmans Food Markets, which was ranked third overall, as the best supermarket chain for which to work.

"This gargantuan grocer offers aisles full of perks: tuition reimbursement, a stock purchase program open to all employees, and even on-site ESL classes at many locations," Fortune wrote about Publix in its review.

Fortune says it determined its 2019 rankings by scoring companies on specific attributes of their workplace. Two-thirds of a company's score was based on a survey, which was sent to a random sample of employees that asked about their workplace. Workers were then asked about the honesty and quality of communication by managers, degree of support for employees' personal and professional lives, and the authenticity of relationships with colleagues.

The remaining third was based on company's responses to the Culture Audit questionnaire, which asked questions about pay and benefits programs, hiring, communication and diversity.

"It is an honor to be recognized as a great place to work," said Publix CEO Todd Jones in a release. "Our associates contribute to Publix's success every day, and I couldn't be prouder of the legacy we're continuing to build."

Publix has 1,213 stores throughout the southeast and has been a mainstay on Fortune's 100 Best Companies list for 22 consecutive years.

Other Florida companies ranking in the top 100 in 2019 were Ultimate Software (Weston, 8th), JM Family Enterprises (Deerfield Beach, 17th), Baycare Health System (37th, Clearwater) and Baptist Health South Florida (Coral Gables, 40th).

View the full list here.

Contact Josh Fiallo at jfiallo@tampabay.com. Follow @ByJoshFiallo.