14 of the best companies to work for if you hate stress

Headquarters: New York, New York

Experienced median pay: $98,800

Employees reporting low stress: 13%

Credit-card and financial-services titan American Express provides employees benefits like paid family leave and health insurance, as well as an on-site gym and café at the New York City headquarters. It's also among the most flexible businesses on our list, with half of employees reporting the ability to work from home, according to PayScale.

Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California

Experienced median pay: $129,000

Employees reporting low stress: 13%

NetApp, a data-storage and cloud-management company, has a slew of employee benefits that have become typical of tech companies competing for top talent, including gourmet food and on-site fitness centers, as well as coworker training programs and time off to volunteer.

Senior software engineers draw the largest salaries at NetApp, pulling in $145,000 on average, followed closely by senior product managers, who make $143,000, according to PayScale.

Headquarters: San Ramon, California

Experienced median pay: $122,000

Employees reporting low stress: 13%

Headquartered in California but present in more than 180 countries, Chevron runs on "Human Energy" with an employee workforce 61,500 strong, nearly half of them in the US.

The multinational oil and gas company's employees and retirees are encouraged to participate in its volunteer program, Chevron Humankind. In 2014, employees logged 350,000 volunteer service hours and donated $20 million to nonprofits and charities, which was matched by Chevron.

Headquarters: New York, New York

Experienced median pay: $111,000

Employees reporting low stress: 13%

Biopharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb has a rich employee culture with strong gender diversity — 54% female and 46% male — across its 11 offices in seven states. The company manufactures drugs that treat cancer, HIV/AIDS, and cardiovascular diseases, among other ailments, and 82% of employees report that their job has high meaning, according to PayScale.

Headquarters: New York, New York

Experienced median pay: $76,000

Employees reporting low stress: 15%

New York Life Insurance, one of the largest insurance firms in the world, offers a number of programs to support diversity within the company. It has seven employment-resource groups created to promote inclusion and "a sense of collaboration in the community," including The Women's Initiative, which fosters career development for the company's female employees, who comprise 57% of the company.

Headquarters: Juno Beach, Florida

Experienced median pay: $87,500

Employees reporting low stress: 15%

The clean-energy company employs 14,300 people in 27 states and Canada. NextEra Energy's Florida headquarters — which achieved LEED-gold recertification last year — has a fitness center, nature trail, running track, and outdoor volleyball court.

Headquarters: Bellevue, Washington

Experienced median pay: $115,000

Employees reporting low stress: 15%

Expedia, the parent company of Expedia.com and a host of online-travel brands and booking sites, including Orbitz and Travelocity, employs more than 18,000 people in 30 countries. Naturally, the company offers its employees travel discounts and fosters a culture that emphasizes curiosity and exploration.

Headquarters: Mountain View, California

Experienced median pay: $119,000

Employees reporting low stress: 15%

Symantec has over 21,000 employees dedicated to creating top-of-the-line cyber-security software. Though employees are expected to know a number of computer-programming languages — Java being the most popular — PayScale found that the best-paying skill is Python. The best-paying position? That would be principal software engineer, which draws a salary of $140,000 on average.

Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California

Experienced median pay: $102,000

Employees reporting low stress: 17%

The semiconductor company aims to push the boundaries of technology and has committed to go green along the way with a trifold program that rewards employees who save energy at work, during their commute, and at home. Though the company is only 22% female, according to PayScale, it has established programs for the inclusion of women, like executive mentoring for emerging female leaders and a general women's forum.

Headquarters: St. Paul, Minnesota

Experienced median pay: $85,700

Employees reporting low stress: 18%

At the medical-devices manufacturing company, employees are encouraged to take advantage of the LiveWell Program, which lets them get on-site health screenings and free health assessments. PayScale notes that 85% of St. Jude Medical employees felt that their job provided high meaning — one of the best scores for a company ranked in the top 50.

Headquarters: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Experienced median pay: $93,400

Employees reporting low stress: 18%

At Biogen, employees feel like they're making a difference, with 91% reporting high job meaning, according to PayScale. The biotechnology company, which develops therapies for neurological and autoimmune diseases, emphasizes giving back to its communities, and every year the company dedicates a "Care Deeply Volunteer Day," where thousands of employees participate in local community-service projects.

Headquarters: Allentown, Pennsylvania

Experienced median pay: $103,000

Employees reporting low stress: 19%

Electric utility PPL — formerly Pennsylvania Power and Light — employs 13,000 people across its three regional energy entities in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and the UK. The most frequently hired positions include engineers, finance and accounting professionals, and plant operators.

Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia

Experienced median pay: $85,100

Employees reporting low stress: 28%

Southern Co. strives to create a culture of trust and excellence by supporting employees in their daily work and challenging them to set industry performance and safety records. The electric utility company provides a positive atmosphere to accomplish this, and 88% of employees reported high job satisfaction, making Southern one of the happiest companies on the list.