Two Different Rankings Just Told Us the Same Thing About Oyster

This month, TIME and Statista named Oyster #10 out of 250 on their first-ever list of America's Top WorkTech Companies of 2026. Around the same time, Newsweek named us one of America's Greatest Startup Workplaces 2026, with our own people rating us 4.5 out of 5.

Different judges, different methods — one measured the business from the outside, the other through our own team’s eyes. I don't think it's a coincidence they landed in the same place.

I've never bought the idea that culture and performance are separate conversations. At a company built on global employment, they're the same conversation. Compliance, payroll, and employment law across 180+ countries don't forgive shortcuts. 

When a customer calls confused about hiring in a new country, they're not calling for the automation. They're calling for the human who'll stay on the line until it's actually clear. That person picks up because they work somewhere that treats the call as mission-critical, not a ticket to close. Culture isn't separate from execution here. It is the execution.

That's the model: real expertise, people who know the terrain, working alongside the technology instead of pretending the technology can do it alone. Software that removes the busywork. Humans who carry the judgment. Neither works without the other.

If you're one of the thousands of companies hiring through Oyster, here's what this actually tells you: the same team and culture behind that 4.5 rating is the one handling your compliance and payroll when things get complicated.

To every Oyster: this one's yours. A top-10 business ranking isn't handed out. Neither is a 4.5 from your own people. Both come from a lot of unglamorous work, done well, consistently whether that’s navigating a sensitive customer situation in a tricky jurisdiction, or meticulously resolving a complex payroll edge case before it ever impacts a team member. I see it, and I don't take it for granted.

This is the bar for us going forward —because it's who we set out to be.

If you're ready to build a global team with a platform - and a team- built for where work is actually heading, we'd love to help you get started.