In-N-Out Burger outranks Facebook, Southwest Airlines and Apple as one of the best places in the world to work. The Irvine-based hamburger chain landed in No. 8 spot on the list of the 50 best places to work as ranked by job site Glassdoor and was the only fast-food restaurant that made the list. Google Inc. held the top spot, followed by Boston-based consulting firm Bain & Co., Nestle Purina PetCare, F5 Networks Inc., Boston Consulting Group, Chevron and grocery chain HEB. Rounding out the top 10 were McKinsey & Co. at No. 9 and Mayo Clinic at No. 10. Facebook was No. 13, Southwest Airlines Co.was 15 and Apple Inc ranked 22. Other companies with a significant Southern California presence that made the list were San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc. (14) and Toyota, which has its U.S. base in Torrance (37). NBCUniversal ranked 31 and Walt Disney Co.’s  Disney Parks was 50.

The ranking of companies with at least 1,000 employees were determined by employee reviews submitted to Glassdoor between Nov.13, 2013 and Nov. 2, 2014. Employees were encouraged to complete a brief online survey that asks them to rate their company, a variety of workplace attributes and their CEO. The survey also asks employees to provide insights into some of the best reasons to work for their company as well as some of the downsides. In-N-Out Burger had a 4.2 rating out of a 5-point scale and received a 95 percent approval rating for its chief executive. Carl Van Fleet, vice president of planning and development at In-N-Out, told Huffington Post the company’s starting wage is $10.50 an hour, which is higher than the $8.94 an hour median pay for fast-food workers nationwide. “We strive to create a working environment that is upbeat, enthusiastic and customer-focused,” Van Fleet told the publication. “A higher pay structure is helpful in making that happen, but it is only part of our approach. It is equally important to treat our associates well and maintain that positive working environment in all of our restaurants.” In-N-Out Burger was founded in 1948 in Baldwin Park by Harry Snyder and was California’s first drive-thru hamburger restaurant. The company is now helmed by Snyder’s granddaughter Lynsi Torres and has 286 restaurants in five states. – Source: NRN.