CEOs Overrate Employee Trust: 90% Confident, 46% of Staff Agree
Image
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.