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Every Thursday, the 15-person staff at Eagle Hill Consulting starts the day with a breakfast meeting. But not just any breakfast meeting: Everyone gathers at the cofounder’s home, and an employee who loves to cook prepares favorites such as blueberry pancakes and shrimp and grits.

“We have a true family culture,” says staffer Sandy Gentles. “The chairman and his wife are like the grandparents always asking about the kids and what the family is up to.”

When The Washingtonian asks employees what they’d miss if they left their job, most say their colleagues. Coworkers are the number-one reason why people stay with a company, according to a Salary.com survey.

But at some firms, including the six here, bonds can be as tight as—or tighter than—a family. Not only does everyone know the names of each other’s spouses and children, but some colleagues vacation together.

Smaller companies tend to feel especially like family. At FYI—For Your Information, managers have been known to attend an employee’s child’s ball game. On birthdays, employees get a gift card for a favorite store or restaurant. Thanksgiving is celebrated with a catered lunch.

“We are a family,” says senior engineer Glen Kilgore. “When one person runs out of leave for an emergency, we give our extra leave to help out. We have attended funerals of our colleagues’ loved ones. At work, if you are not sure how to do something, you ask your coworkers—they always help you out.”

Other workplaces that received high scores for feeling like family: Coray Gurnitz Consulting, Decisive Analytics Corporation, the Educe Group, Genetic Alliance, Home Builders Institute, Merritt Group, the Midtown Group, Spider Strategies.