There’s a lot to love about working in the cannabis industry, and most agree the work they do is both gratifying and fulfilling. Luckily, more than a few employers get creative with ways to ensure employees receive more than just a deeply rewarding experience.
Each year, mg Magazine recognizes those employers in its annual list of America’s Best Cannabis Employers. Nominations for 2022 are underway, and all companies that are actively working in the industry are encouraged to get involved.
Each year since 2018, mg has taken on the industry-wide project of documenting and analyzing cannabis workforce dynamics and identifying cannabis employers who go above and beyond the basics to recruit and retain the industry’s best workers. Collaborating with human resources experts, the trade journal’s editorial team surveys employers and employees, closely examining standards, practices, salaries, benefits, company culture, and other essential elements of successful workplaces. The intensive research results in the most comprehensive, accurate, and credible analysis of the forces affecting the industry’s most precious asset: its people.
Today, more than 430,000 people work in the legal cannabis industry. That number climbs each year, with about 80,000 new jobs created in 2021 alone. The growth is accompanied by a new and increasingly specific set of criteria for what constitutes quality in both employees and employers. According to mg’s research, great cannabis employers ask, listen, and consistently find new ways to create a productive and healthy working environment that nurtures and rewards the best and brightest.
In 2021, for example, the magazine discovered:
- More than three-quarters of cannabis employers operated diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, usually with employee-led components.
- More than two-thirds offered educational reimbursement.
- Nine in ten offered employer-paid insurance programs.
- Three-quarters offered flexible scheduling.
- Seventy percent provided paid medical/family leave.
- More than two-thirds contributed to retirement or pension plans.
In addition to naming the fifty American cannabis employers offering the most employee-focused workplaces, the 2022 report is expected to highlight new findings consistent with a post-pandemic retail environment. mg will publish the report in its December 2022 print issue.
Companies may participate in the study and submit nominations at TopCannabisEmployers.com (neither of which require a fee) before midnight PST September 15. Questions and requests for more information may be directed to [email protected].
