Boston – October 14, 2026 -- Nearly 90% of CEOs believe their employees trust their leadership, but only 46% of employees agree, according to the second edition of Boston Consulting Group's CEO Insomnia Index.
The gap is widest around AI transformation. Four in ten employees say their CEO has not been transparent enough about how AI will affect their roles and career opportunities. Only 15% of CEOs worry that their AI approach could erode employee trust.
The study draws on global surveys of 645 CEOs of companies with at least $100 million in revenue and 500 nonexecutive employees, plus five years of CEO turnover data from the S&P 1200. This edition adds employee perspectives to the Index for the first time.
Trust in AI leadership correlates with a 40-point gap in discretionary effort
Half of employees whose trust in their CEO has increased because of the CEO's handling of AI say they are more willing to go above and beyond than three months ago. Among employees whose trust has eroded, fewer than 10% say the same, a difference of more than 40 percentage points.
The perception gap also covers employee well-being. Nearly 70% of CEOs are confident employees trust them to prioritize well-being when funding critical business priorities, while only 36% of employees agree, a gap of more than 30 percentage points.
Despite these disconnects, 58% of CEOs say they are not concerned about rising employee disgruntlement, and many point to existing efforts to keep employees satisfied.
BCG's Julie Bedard said leadership teams have historically overestimated this type of trust, and that the overestimate has grown as the employer-employee relationship becomes more transactional in some companies. Matthias Tauber, BCG senior partner, said employees judge CEOs by their actions as well as their words.
One in three CEOs has considered stepping down in the past six months
The Index stress score fell to 64.2 out of 100, down from 66.7 earlier this year. Even so, 34% of chief executives say they have considered stepping down in the past six months. The share rises to more than 40% among CEOs of the largest companies in the study.
CEOs cite better health, more family time, improved work-life balance and a happier life as reasons for considering departure.
Nearly 60% of CEOs plan to replace a C-suite member within six months
Sixty-three percent of CEOs are confident their senior leadership teams can execute their vision over the next two to four quarters. Yet nearly 60% of CEOs plan to replace a C-suite member within six months. The figure reaches 70% among leaders of the largest companies in the study.
CFOs top the list of likely replacements. In the inaugural Index, 26% of CEOs named their CFO as the C-suite colleague posing the greatest threat to their own job security.