We Asked the American People What They Want From Corporate America – Here’s What They Said

Table of Contents

1. Defining the People’s Priorities
2. Top Worker Issues
3. What do they want from corporate leadership?
4. Fair pricing
5. Is there alignment on Sustainability and DEI?
6. Conclusions

JUST Capital released its 8th annual Americans’ Views on Business Survey in October. The results underscored the incredibly complex stakeholder landscape facing CEOs today, but they also provided real encouragement for corporations seeking to adopt a leadership role in society going forward. Our annual People’s Priorities Report, presented here, follows the Views on Business survey with a detailed breakdown of what, exactly, the public expects of business at this point in time, which issues matter most, and where the greatest opportunities for business leadership and differentiation may lie. The issues raised by the public and their prioritization of those issues will underpin the 2025 JUST Capital Rankings of America’s Most JUST Companies, coming soon in Q1.

The findings of this report resonate strongly with the sentiments that drove the results of the November 2024 election cycle – Americans are concerned about their economic well-being, about how they are treated as consumers, about being able to support their families. And they appear distrustful of institutions as they repeatedly call for increased transparency, corporate accountability and leadership. 

In a hyper-divided world, this report offers a playbook for understanding and addressing stakeholder demands, and provides examples of how companies can unlock competitive advantage through action. For CEOs, boards, and other business leaders seeking to make sense of things, it represents an invaluable, practical, and very timely strategic guide. 

The public is unified in wanting companies to treat their workers and their customers with respect, humanity, and fairness. Of the 17 key issues we identified and evaluated, almost all of the top ten are connected to how companies act on basic worker- and customer-related factors. In addition, the desire for integrity in business leadership rose significantly in ranked importance. In contrast to four years ago, when CEOs were expected to speak out or take a stance on hot-button social issues, the public says that today leaders should direct their focus to core operational, strategic, and financial matters. Moreover, it is deeds that matter far more than words. The public is less interested in hearing about company commitments, pledges, and targets and much more focused on understanding what a company is actually doing on the issues of greatest importance. 

Key findings include:

• Fair, Living Wages continues to be the #1 issue year over year. 
• Worker Well-Being issues — ensuring a safe work environment, supporting mental health issues, listening to workers, engaging them in the workplace — also ranked highly with all respondents, regardless of political or demographic grouping. 
• Likewise, providing meaningful Benefits and supporting a good Work-Life Balance (including things like flexible scheduling, paid time off and corporate care benefits) saw widespread support.
• Ethical Leadership rose 5 places to the #2 spot, driven presumably by a widespread desire to rebuild trust between institutions and the people they serve. 
• Relatedly, Communicating Honestly and Transparently was the #4 Issue, rising 8 places from last year, with respondents describing a desire for companies to engage in transparent practices, honest communication, and corporate accountability.
• Fair Pricing is an issue that emerged this year for the first time, likely reflecting the effects of pandemic-related inflation. Respondents called for the price of a good or service to be in line with its value and quality, and for companies not to engage in price gouging or excessive price increases. 
• On issues where opinions differed across political or other demographic groups, such as Fostering an Inclusive Workplace or issues pertaining to Environment, there was a surprising amount of alignment on these concepts, even though the terminology different groups used to express these concepts differed.

Overall, there is a tremendous opportunity for corporate America to take a leadership role in tackling some of America’s more intractable economic and societal challenges, and in doing so, to become a unifying force in the country. 

Determining the People’s Priorities  

JUST Capital’s annual Rankings process begins with small-group discussions with a diverse and representative mix of Americans across the U.S. to understand the actions and behaviors they expect from a “just” business. Focus groups enable our research team to hear the unvarnished voice of the public speak about what issues matter most, and whether these opinions have changed over time. The polling team then distills the major themes of these discussions into statements that capture these concepts, or “Issues,” which become the foundation by which we annually track and evaluate companies in our Rankings of America’s Most JUST Companies.

This year, this work yielded 17 Issues (see Fig. 1 below). Over time, we have seen that many of these Issues are evergreen, in that they are consistently mentioned year after year when we engage in conversation with the public. Since all of these Issues are deemed essential to a just business model, we conduct a follow up exercise wherein the public gives us the relative importance of the 17 Issues.

Fig. 1: 2025 Rankings – The Priorities of the Public

Each Issue is color-coded by the Stakeholder it impacts most. While we reference the public prioritizing several Issues in this report, please note that many of the Issues’ relative importance varies by a fraction of a percentage point. 

In a time of division, the public continues to be unified on what issues matter most

The People’s Priorities are determined by responses to a survey of more than 3,000 U.S. adults, who are a fully representative cross-section of Americans. This means we hear from a variety of voices, both by demographic groupings such as race/ethnicity, gender, income levels, and age, and by other descriptive data such as political ideologies and whether or not respondents are active investors. We expect to see some variation in how each group ranks the 17 Issues provided, yet Figure 2 shows a remarkable consistency. Across demographic groups in the three highest-ranked Issues: Pays a fair, living wage, Acts ethically at the leadership level, and Supports worker well-being. These findings signal that the public is united, not divided, across political ideologies around the issues they want companies to prioritize. 

Fig. 2: Top 5 Issues by Demographic Group

Yet there is indeed some variance in the Issues’ relative importance when comparing demographic groups. For example, “Provides benefits and work-life balance” is the #5 issue on average, Republicans and adults age 65 and older prioritized it much less, and Issues related to sustainability and the environment ranked higher among young adults and those identifying as Democrats than among their older or more conservative counterparts. But by and large, the pattern of responses is generally the same in terms of where Issues fall in relative rank and weight.

Conceptually, Americans agree on what they considered to be just business behaviors. The terminology that one group uses to express a concept can contrast with how another group interprets the issue. We will uncover those differences as we dive deeper into our data.

Worker issues continue to be paramount

In every one of the eight years we have fielded this survey, the public has clearly conveyed that corporate America’s #1 priority should be its workers. For our annual survey, we categorize our 17 Issues by which core group they affect most (their main “Stakeholder”): Workers, Communities, Customers, Shareholders, or the Environment. The public generally gives Issues under the Workers Stakeholder their highest prioritization, and this year is no different – 4 of the top 6 Issues for the 2025 Rankings are related to Workers (see Fig. 1). These Issues are arguably “closest to home,” and the consistency of their placement over time signals that most Americans believe that worker treatment is fundamental to a just company. 

“Pays workers fairly and offers a living wage that covers the cost of basic needs at the local level” continues to be ranked 1st across nearly every demographic cohort. However, with a weight of 11.6%, it comprises a lower proportion than it did in the 2024 Rankings (17.7%), and 2023 Rankings (21.1%). This suggests that while a fair, living wage continues to be fundamental to the public’s perceptions of just corporate behavior, wages may have risen enough in the past few years (via talent demands or rises in states’ minimum wage level) that the relative importance has decreased.

While fair pay is the most important element of just business leadership, how focus group participants interpret this issue varies. For some, fair pay means that workers are able to pay their bills, support their families, and have a bit left over to save each month; for others, fair pay means that employers are more transparent about publishing pay ranges; others still talk about fair pay in terms of wage equity: that companies pay the same amount for the same job both internally and in terms of what is fair for the market. 

I am thinking about [retailer]… I really want to see their employees not seeming so stressed out at work… A wage you can actually live on. A wage that you can pay your bills and you’re not trying to take out payday loans or get extra credit cards.

– F; 45-49;  Moderate; Post Grad; White; Kids; Pacific

At my current job, you can be a 25-year vet and there can be somebody who just started two years ago and you’re making nearly the same amount. It’s strange.

– M; 40-44; Moderate; Republican; HS Grad; Black/AA; Kids; South

“Supports worker well-being and provides safe and healthy working conditions” is the second highest-ranked of the Workers Issues, comprising 9.8% of a company’s score and ranking #3 in overall importance. Indeed, a recent survey from Deloitte on human sustainability underscores our own data, showing that only about half (56%) of workers feel their overall well-being is “excellent” or “good.” Over time, the public has said that this issue is an essential part of just leadership, although in the past few years, our focus group participants have spoken about this issue more broadly than companies simply providing a physically safe work environment. Almost equally often, respondents named other examples of positive worker treatment, including actions such as providing mental health support options or culture-building initiatives (such as providing sessions for employees to give leadership upward feedback).

A [company’s] responsibility to their employees? Treat them well. Safe working environment.

– F; 55-59;  Moderate; Bachelor’s; White; No kids; Midwest

Good leadership is being open to feedback from the employees. You may not do everything they say, but at least you’re open to hearing them out in things that could help the job overall.

– M; 40-44; Moderate; Republican; HS Grad; Black/AA; Kids; South

Benefits ranks 5th among the public’s priorities: “Offers a quality benefits package that supports work-life balance for all workers” comprises 7.2% of a company’s score, roughly in line with the previous year (7.6%). Across demographics, the public largely agrees that a fundamental element of a competitive pay package is good benefits, but what those benefits entail can be different depending on life stage or other factors. Some mentioned flexible scheduling, paid time off, and corporate care benefits so employees can look after children or aging family members. Other mentioned monetary investments like insurance, a 401(k), and stock packages.

A good work-life balance, allowing for those that have young families to be able to take care of their children, take care of spouses, not be held just to having to work a certain number of hours.

– M, 35-39  Somewhat Liberal; Democratic Post Grad; White; No Kids, Midwest

Companies that have big stock packages [should make] both the corporate shareholder and employee shareholder benefits standardized so everyone has a stake in the company and feels like they’re part of the investment goals of the company themselves.

– M; 30-34;  Somewhat Conservative; Bachelor’s; White; No kids; West

Fundamentals of ethical leadership include honesty and transparency

The Issue on Ethical Leadership rose 5 places this year to reach the #2 spot, driven presumably by a widespread desire to rebuild trust between institutions and the people they serve, several high-profile examples of poor ethical leadership by corporations, and a growing sense of cynicism in society overall. “Conducts business ethically and honestly, and takes responsibility for wrongdoings,” comprises 10% of a company’s score in our 2025 Rankings. 

While ethics can be extremely subjective, we found there is general agreement on the interpretation in a business context: across demographics it means being open, and honest about business operations, companies doing what they said they were going to do, not misleading people or covering up unjust acts, and operating with a greater sense of corporate responsibility and good citizenship.

I think being transparent and honest, our lenses into being fair and just, I think acting with integrity and definitely with ethical behavior are further ways to provide fair and just behavior or services.

– F; 35-39; Somewhat Liberal; Post Grad+; White; Kids; West

If [companies] post record profits, but pollute a river or lake, those profits came from the public then. They didn’t come from your innovation.

– M; 40-44; FT, Somewhat Conservative; Post Grad; White; Kids; West

Relatedly, transparent communication entered the top 5 Issues, with “Is honest and transparent in communications with customers about its products, services, and operations,” rising from the #12 rank last year to #4 this year, receiving a 7.7% weight. Although this issue is generally categorized as belonging to the Consumer Stakeholder, many focus group participants talked about this issue as fundamental to ethical leadership. Respondents describe a desire for companies to engage in transparent practices, honest communication, and corporate accountability.

I think being transparent … throughout the process of what they’re doing for their employees and what they’re doing for the environment for the better would help us, I guess, trust companies more because I think there’s a big lack of trust between the consumer and the customer and the seller.

– M; 40-44; Moderate/Dem; Bachelor’s; Hispanic; Kids; South

Being ethical to consumers. So no false advertisements and such.

– M; 25-29; Moderate; Bachelor’s; Asian; No kids; West

I tend to think favorably upon companies that are transparent and open and honest. And I think to your point, even if the data is lackluster or disappointing or whatever, I think being transparent and open and honest is a favorable trait.

– F; 35-39; Somewhat Liberal; Post Grad+; White; Kids; West

Consumers come into focus as a key priority

Another key finding from this year’s Survey is that in 2024, Issues related to the Customers Stakeholder are prioritized to a greater degree than what we have seen in the past few years, reflecting Americans’ ongoing concerns about kitchen table issues of the economy and inflation.

To that end, a new issue arose in our focus groups: fair pricing. The events of any one year can determine which To that end, a new issue arose in our focus groups: fair pricing. The events of any one year can determine which of the 17 Issues Americans deem more important than others. “Offers quality products and/or services at a fair price” debuted at #8 in overall priority this year and commanded a 6.1% weight, at least partially as a result of the persistent perception of high prices resulting from COVID-19-related inflation.

In the America’s Views on Business Survey, 79% of respondents agreed that “it is unjust for corporations to increase profit margins by keeping consumer prices high even as the cost of materials comes down.” Indeed, focus group participants mentioned being charged higher-than-usual prices for everything from soft drinks to baby formula, signaling that rising prices has been a key pain point for Americans over the past 18 months.

It’s not that ‘maybe groceries cost $200,’ now they’re costing $300 for their family on a monthly basis just due to inflation.

– Alexis; F; 25-29; Moderate/Rep; Some College; Black/ AA; No kids; Midwest

At the same time, a few express fair pricing as the price of a good or service being in line with its value and quality.

I want to get a quality product for my money, and in my mind I kind of have a price range that I’m feeling like is fair for a certain product… I definitely don’t want to spend extra on something and then be disappointed.

– F; 45-49;  Moderate; Post Grad; White; Kids; Pacific

There continues to be a persistent call from the public that a just company “Values its customers by treating them with respect and providing a positive customer experience.” To some, this means having respectful, responsive customer service that resolves issues quickly. For others, it means simply delivering on the expectations they set for the performance and value of their products and services. Regardless of interpretation, fair customer treatment rose 3 spots for the 2025 Rankings, to #7 and 6.3% of the model.

I’m patronizing your business. If I have an issue, I just want to be treated with respect and I just want the issue to be taken care of.

– F; 45-49; Very Liberal; Some College; Black/ AA; No kids; Mid Atlantic

I think when you can get through to somebody, and someone actually answers the phone… Having a more personalized experience with somebody, as opposed to the AI, or the voice recordings that you get.

– F; 50-54; Moderate/Dem; Bachelor’s; White; Kids, West

I think the chief responsibility of the company is to provide the goods and services that it has committed to provide to its customers.

– M; 45-49; Somewhat Liberal; Post Grad+; $100K-$149.9K; Asian; No kids; Mid-Atlantic

The language may be different, but there is basic alignment

Interestingly, even on Issues where there were markedly differing opinions across political or other demographic groups, there is a surprising amount of alignment once terminology is broken down. 

Our #12 issue, “Fosters an inclusive and supportive workplace culture with equal opportunity for all,” is a prime example. Although people used different words to describe what “fostering an inclusive workplace” means (liberals used terms such as “inclusivity” and “diversity,” while conservatives preferred “equal treatment of all”), there was widespread agreement that companies should ensure they do not discriminate, consciously or otherwise, among employees and that people of all backgrounds should be welcomed and given the same opportunity to succeed.

I would ask if you’re in a community that’s diverse, how do you not have people working in the company providing a product to a diverse group of people?

– M; 50-54; Somewhat Liberal; Bachelor’s; Black/ AA; No kids; Mid Atlantic

My expectation in that regard would be … to treat everybody equally. As America has always done, you try and be capitalistic in a way that’s going to benefit the community as well as yourself as a company. So you shouldn’t be so concerned about any particular group, or race, or social status, or ideology.

– M; 45-49; Very Conservative; Post Grad; Hispanic; Kids; West

Likewise, Environmental Issues are on average prioritized lower than Worker or Customer Issues, even among the demographic groups who support these issues the most (e.g. younger Americans, Democrats). Yet even among groups where the idea of climate change is not universally accepted, there was broad agreement that companies have a disproportionate influence on the environment and, therefore, have a responsibility to minimize negative impact.

Minimizes pollution (#13)

Let’s say if a big corporation moves into my area. It’s probably going to boost up the economy, but should we be concerned about the pollution? How do they plan to do something else with their company’s resources? Are they dumping into the water or the rivers?

– M; 40-44; Moderate Republican; HS Grad; Black/ AA; Kids; South

A great product … shouldn’t mess up the earth. It shouldn’t make the earth worse no matter what you’re selling, what you’re promoting. It shouldn’t make our living worse. It shouldn’t make the air worse. It shouldn’t affect us in a negative way no matter what it is.

– F; 45-49; Very Liberal; Some College; Black/ AA; No kids, Mid Atlantic

Prioritizes sustainability (#15)

Companies could use their position as a market leader to set an example for other companies. By going green, for instance. If they take the first steps in initiating something that could show how they can shrink their carbon footprint, then others would be more likely to follow.

– M; 40-44; Moderate/Dem; Bachelor’s; Hispanic; Kids; South

I do think one thing [that] is very concerning is the fast fashion. I’m trying to stay away from such brands because of the toxic environment.

– F; 35-39; Moderate Republican; Post Grad; Asian; Kids; West

Takes action on climate commitments (#16)

To me, the main message is that whatever company it is, is it taking the appropriate action to reduce any harmful environmental impact that they might be producing?

– F; 25-29; Very Conservative; Bachelor’s; White; No kids: Mid Atlantic

A lot of the time, I’ve seen executives say things like, “We’ll talk about going green by 2030,” but that’s just an overarching statement. It’s a marketing ploy for their customers or their shareholders to say, “Hey, look what we’re trying to achieve,” without any actual goals of how they’re going to do it. And so, within a certain timeframe, if there’s not milestones and ways to achieve those goals, then it’s just fodder. Great leadership would have exact steps and processes in place on how to achieve those goals. And then in doing so, that could achieve long-term success.

– M; 40-44; Moderate/Dem; Bachelor’s; Hispanic; Kids; South

A focus on the public’s priorities leads to long-term value

In each of the eight years since JUST Capital has fielded this research, the public has consistently told us they support a movement away from shareholder primacy toward a more value-driven operational model of business. What is more, they have then connected the dots between stakeholder value improvement and long-term revenue generation. To that end, the following quotes from our focus groups reflect most participants’ agreement that positive returns are directly related to meeting the needs of key stakeholders, such as a company’s customers and workers.  

I believe [companies’] chief responsibility is to churn out quality products that customers demand, but also balance that out with treating their employees right. And I think those two things can lead to shareholder profits, which I know is really their main thing.

– M; 40-44; Somewhat Conservative; Post Grad; White; Kids; West

I want to [invest] with the company that has the better [workers], but if you’re not treating them well, I may be a little apprehensive. Because it can then end up that the [workers] want to pull out, and the investors want to pull out. I don’t want to deal with that type of thing when you’re dealing with my money.

– F; 45-49; Very Liberal; Some College; Black/ AA; No kids, Mid Atlantic

A roadmap for corporate prioritization in an age of division

Yet again, the American people have provided clear guidance on the specific actions businesses can take today to rebuild the public’s trust in business and markets as a force for good. This year’s Survey shows plainly and emphatically that regardless of demographic background or political ideology, Americans agree that companies should prioritize their workers and customers. Moreover, they are demanding more ethical leadership in the form of greater honesty and transparency about business strategy and operations.

Focusing on actions that create value for multiple stakeholders – such as encouraging a healthy environment and creating good jobs by investing in renewable energy, supporting human rights and stronger communities by enforcing ethical labor practices, and developing training and educational pathways for employees to grow their careers – is another pronounced theme. Americans do not see different stakeholders as separate business interests competing for attention; they see them as part of an integrated whole.

By recognizing and embracing the critical importance of creating value for all stakeholders, businesses can lay the groundwork for sustained growth, innovation, and excellence. Companies in turn benefit by becoming more successful in the marketplace, and society benefits by realizing impact at scale.

Appendix

Methodology

Since its inception, JUST Capital’s mission has been to demonstrate how just business – defined by the priorities of the public – is better business. Our goal is to help companies create value for all their stakeholders by focusing on the issues that matter most to the American public. The goal is to help companies improve, and in turn, improve the lives of their workers, customers, and society. 

At the core of our work is a robust research program that starts with focus groups in which we ask the American public to identify the policies, practices, and behaviors companies should prioritize to be considered just (which we call “Issues”). These Issues include fair pay and a living wage; an inclusive workplace; stronger, healthier communities; good jobs; a cleaner environment; and more. Then, based on sophisticated polling of a representative sample of Americans, we estimate the relative importance of these behaviors – in other words, how important to defining a just company each behavior is relative to others.

Since 2015, JUST Capital has surveyed more than 182,000 Americans – on a fully representative basis – asking them to define just business behavior. For the past three years, we have partnered with SSRS, an objective, nonpartisan research institution that provides scientifically rigorous statistical surveys of the U.S. population, to survey more than 3,000 Americans annually on their perspectives (see Fig. 3 below for demographic information on this year’s survey).

Fig. 3: 2024 Annual Survey Demographics

Defining a Just Company 

Before answering questions about the just behavior of large companies, it is important for respondents to have a clear definition of the concept. The definition we provided to our survey respondents is as follows: A just company demonstrates a commitment to doing right by its workers, its customers, the environment, the community, its shareholders, and the business itself.

Summary of Methods

We conducted the 20-question survey online with a probability-based sample attained through the exhaustive statistical sampling methods employed by SSRS. The SSRS Opinion Panel is a nationally representative probability-based web panel, and findings are generalizable to the general adult population.

The full survey was conducted from July 10 to July 16, 2024 among a general population sample of 3,008 English- and Spanish-speaking U.S. adults 18+ years of age, with an oversample of 606 Hispanic and 407 non-Hispanic Black respondents. Panelists were sent an email invitation to take the survey online as well as up to eight reminder emails throughout the field period. The survey program was optimized so that respondents could complete it using a desktop or laptop computer as well as a mobile device. In total, 1,023 respondents completed the survey on a computer and 1,970 completed it on a mobile device.

The margin of error is +/- 2.2% at the 95% confidence level. Results were weighted to U.S. Census parameters for age, gender, education, race/Hispanic ethnicity, and Census Division to ensure representativeness of the U.S. population. All margins of error include “design effects” to adjust for the effects of weighting.

To identify the priorities of the public, we calculate for each Issue the probability that an individual would choose that as most important to defining a just company. As such, there are 17 probabilities calculated from the 17 Issues. These probabilities can be referred to as weights as each represents the relative importance of one Issue versus another. To illustrate more explicitly, the Issue “Worker well-being” was assigned a weight of 9.8% as there is almost a 1 in 10 chance that a respondent chosen at random will identify this Issue as most important in defining a just company. By comparison, the weight assigned to “Creates and maintains the conditions for the company’s long-term financial success” has a 3.2% weight. 

Our full body of survey work for 2024 also includes six focus groups conducted in partnership with The Harris Poll. To learn more about how this survey data drives JUST Capital’s analysis and Rankings of the largest publicly traded U.S. companies, visit the Methodology section of our website.