I wish there was an easier way to find them. In my experience, it was former colleagues who recruited me. At the time I didn't have any sense of how business model might affect the work environment, all I knew was that my colleagues really liked their new jobs, but in retrospect it clearly makes a difference.
That doesn't mean it's all roses. My last company brought in a terrible middle-manager who was at least part of the reason I left.
If I were searching in the market right now, I'd probably apply to a bunch of different companies and ask some variation of the following questions:
1. Are you privately-owned (and plan to stay that way)?
2. Are you profitable?
There's obviously a bunch of other questions that are important to job satisfaction (is the work relevant to the companies revenue goals, work/life balance, etc.) but those two questions determine whether the company has at least the economic independence to make the right decisions over the long-term.
That doesn't mean it's all roses. My last company brought in a terrible middle-manager who was at least part of the reason I left.
If I were searching in the market right now, I'd probably apply to a bunch of different companies and ask some variation of the following questions:
1. Are you privately-owned (and plan to stay that way)?
2. Are you profitable?
There's obviously a bunch of other questions that are important to job satisfaction (is the work relevant to the companies revenue goals, work/life balance, etc.) but those two questions determine whether the company has at least the economic independence to make the right decisions over the long-term.