Slideshow: Top 10 Tech Newsmakers Of 2010

Facebook beat-out long-time employee favorite Southwest Airlines and Mark Zuckerberg was topped only by Apple's Steve Jobs in a yearly ranking of the top places to work and the best company CEOs.

Employees gave Facebook founder Zuckerberg an approval rating of 96%; over in Cupertino, Apple workers gave Jobs a 97% approval rating, according to Glassdoor.com's third annual Employees' Choice Awards.

Looking at the company as a whole, employees gave Facebook 4.6 out of a possible 5 points, compared with Southwest's 4.4 points, the employee survey found. Last year, Facebook was not on the list. Bain & Co. came in third this year, followed by General Mills and Edelman, Glassdoor said.

"We're thrilled to be recognized as the best place to work among the distinguished companies on the list," said Lori Goler, vice president of human resources at Facebook. "At Facebook, every person can have a meaningful impact, and people are empowered to move fast, take risks, and build bold and innovative things. We're thankful people have embraced this freedom to do great things for Facebook and the people who use Facebook around the world."

The survey of the leading 50 employers is based solely on feedback from employees who often incorporate several factors into their opinion of their workplace, according to Glassdoor.

"Through anonymous employee reviews and surveys, Glassdoor offers a unique look into the top U.S. employers and some of the factors that make employees at these companies more satisfied with their jobs," said Robert Hohman, co-founder and CEO of Glassdoor. "For companies on the list, we typically get positive feedback on the company culture, benefits, and open communication practices while we also tend to see competitive pay packages and high opinions of the chief executive."

Survey respondents include their thoughts on both the pros and cons of their business environment.

"Facebook is amazing. Working here offers the best environment I have ever seen in a workplace. The job is all about cooperation, not competition. The Facebook culture, office design, and management styles all support this," said one employee's response.

The primary negative as far as this worker was concerned? "With the small number of employees, everyone is expected to change the world," the respondent said.

Other positives included Facebook's innovation, engineering talent, ability for an individual to make a difference, and the open, transparent environment, according to surveys. Cons included the hectic schedule, balancing work and private life, ensuring the right people are hired or promoted from within, better communication within teams, and managing growth, respondents said. There's also the problem with Facebook fans.

Said one evidently frustrated employee: "People are always asking me technical questions about Facebook and 'What is it like to work at FB?'"

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