pandemonium in the 17th list of the best companies to work in France. The profile of the companies winning this year no longer has much to do with those that were there less than a decade ago. And subsidiaries three colors of Microsoft, Volkswagen Group, or Abbott were still in 2010 in the top 10 of the businesses with 500 to 5,000 employees popular. But slaving away today in a group that is among the leaders in its sector is no longer enough to attract talent, and even less to retain them. "The employees are looking for something more profound," emphasizes Xavier Fontanet, former CEO of Essilor in the preface to the book of Fabienne Alamelou-Michaille, cleverly titled Manager with his soul , the method of the great leaders to put the human at the heart of the work.

A quest for meaning is particularly powerful among the young generations who are also giving great importance to their balance between work and private lives. Their first ...