Harmonix named top place to work in Boston

Rock Band and Dance Central developer Harmonix is one of the top places to work in the Boston, Mass., area according to a new survey from The Boston Globe. The publication's "2012 Top Places to Work" survey was published recently and places Harmonix at number 24 of 40 on the list's midsize employers category.

The midsize company category was defined as those with an employee headcount of between 100 and 249. According to the survey, Harmonix has 221 employees. Harmonix, and other midsize companies, were placed into categories based on size to lessen the "small company effect," according to the announcement.

This is a theory that smaller employers often perform better in these types of workplace surveys than larger entities because their employees tend to have more interaction with top management and have a greater overall sense of involvement.

Other game companies in the Boston area include BioShock Infinite studio Irrational Games and Lord of the Rings Online developer Turbine Inc. Neither of those companies, nor any other game studio, were named to the list.

According to the announcement, 1,586 employers were invited to participate in the survey, though only 304 organizations completed the process. The Globe partnered with research firm WorkplaceDynamics to formulate the survey, which was distributed to more than 135,000 employees, with 81,907 surveys returning completed.

Participants were asked to rate their company's performance on 24 unique statements, running the gamut from "new ideas are encouraged at this company" to "my manager makes it easier to do my job well."