What is a Good Job?
A business is only as good as its people – which is why investing in Good Jobs often brings stability, engagement, and profitability to businesses in every sector. Quality employment ensures that local workers can afford life in the community and, in turn, spend money at neighbouring businesses – keeping the local economy strong.
Why Good Jobs Are Smart Business
Good Jobs deliver fundamental business advantages that directly impact your bottom line:
Higher Retention – Employees stay longer when they’re treated well, reducing costly hiring and training cycles that can drain resources and disrupt operations.
Increased Productivity – Workers who feel valued and secure consistently outperform those in high-stress, low-wage environments. Better conditions lead to better work.
Customer Satisfaction – Happy employees provide better customer service. When staff aren’t stressed about making ends meet, they can focus on creating positive customer experiences.
Stronger Local Markets – Employees who earn more spend more in their communities, creating more customers for local businesses and strengthening the entire local economy.
Good Jobs Practices That Can Boost Retention and Productivity in Your Business
To join our network, businesses demonstrate they implement at least 2 of these proven practices:
Higher Wages (15%+ above minimum wage) Business Value: Reduces turnover costs, attracts higher-quality candidates, and increases productivity through improved employee engagement and reduced absenteeism.
Paid Sick Days (3+ employer-paid days for all staff) Business Value: Prevents workplace illness spread, reduces unplanned absences, and improves team morale. Try our Paid Sick Day calculator to cost this out at your business.
Predictable Scheduling (2+ weeks advance notice) Business Value: Enables better staffing planning, reduces last-minute call-ins, and helps retain reliable employees who can plan their lives around work.
BWA members also commit to implementing these practices within their first year:
Pay Equity Monitoring (biennial gender pay gap audits) Business Value: Ensures competitive compensation strategies and helps attract top talent in an increasingly competitive market.
Transparent Compensation (wage ranges on job postings) Business Value: Streamlines hiring by attracting candidates within budget range and demonstrates commitment to fairness that appeals to quality workers.
The Local Economic Impact of Good Jobs & Stable Businesses
Good Jobs businesses don’t just create better workplaces – they build fundamentally different and more stable local economies. BWA member businesses recirculate 2-4x more revenue locally than large chains, creating a multiplier effect that strengthens entire communities.
Local Wealth Circulation: When Good Jobs businesses pay higher wages, that money gets spent at neighboring businesses – the coffee shop, the pharmacy, the local services. This creates a virtuous cycle where prosperity builds on itself, rather than flowing to distant corporate shareholders.
Non-Extractive Economic Model: Unlike chain stores or corporations that extract profits from communities, locally owned Good Jobs businesses reinvest in their neighborhoods. They hire locally, bank locally, and solve problems locally – keeping economic decision-making in the hands of people who live and work in the community.
Economic Resilience: Communities with strong networks of locally owned, Good Jobs businesses are more resilient to economic shocks. When businesses are rooted in the community and employees can afford to live and spend locally, the local economy becomes self-reinforcing rather than dependent on external corporations and distant economic decisions.
Good Jobs Create Stronger Businesses and Communities
When businesses invest in Good Jobs practices, they create a positive cycle: better wages and working conditions lead to more skilled, engaged employees and stronger local purchasing power. This builds resilient businesses and prosperous communities that can weather economic challenges and compete for the long term.
Good Jobs aren’t just good for workers – they’re a smart business strategy.
