When the Malden Mills factory burnt down on December 11, 1995, owner Aaron Feuerstein used his insurance money to rebuild it, and to pay the salaries of all the now-unemployed workers while it was being rebuilt.

It all started with a Buddhist and a bakery in 1982. Since then, when people say, yes, I want to work; we say yes right back.

Tony Hsieh, the late ex-CEO of online retailer Zappos, is known for his trailblazing workplace policies — including one in which the company offered up to $2,000 to unhappy new employees to leave the company,