John Hancock Financial Services Inc.

Our insiders characterize John Hancock as a "formal company" that is "loosening up" - but slowly. One informant notes that because "John Hancock is in the process of demutualizing, the company and its culture are changing." Nevertheless, the same contact adds that "it has been a good company to work for - one that has managed to grow its traditional life insurance business as well as to expand into new distribution channels with new products." Others agree, citing "friendly" colleagues and a generally "team-oriented" culture.

Oh, lovely Hancock tower

If nothing else, John Hancock is architecturally distinguished, and Boston employees say they enjoy working in one of the city's "most recognizable buildings" - the 60-story glass John Hancock Tower. While work schedules "vary by department," most people work "8 to 4:30 every day" and enjoy their "competitive" salaries. Regarding diversity, one insider in sales notes: "It is pretty much what you make of it. Some very successful agents sell almost exclusively to their own ethnic community. Others, who are just as successful, sell almost exclusively outside their own ethnic community."