Dave Murphy of the Stanford Business School summarizes a keynote speech by Isadore Sharp, founder of Four Seasons Hotels,

He said employers often believe that workers value job security and competitive pay the most, but the Fortune best-places-to-work companies understand that job security is tentative in this economy, and other items are more important to workers than salaries.

Employees in these firms value primarily three things: first, to work for leaders who inspire their best; second, a physical environment that makes work enjoyable; and third, and I think most important, a sense of purpose, and a feeling they’re working for more than a paycheck—that they’re helping to build a company that they can take pride in. In short, some daily meaning along with their daily bread.