52% of CEOs feel that their workplace culture is toxic, survey finds

A staggering 52 per cent of CEOs believe that their workplace culture is toxic, a 10 percentage-point increase from 2023, a survey has found.

This is according to Businessolver’s 2024 State of Workplace Empathy Report, a survey conducted between February and March that included approximately 3,100 US workers, around 400 of whom were CEOs. These individuals work in the financial services, Government, healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing industries.

The survey found that 52 per cent of CEOs agree that their workplace is toxic, 24 per cent of whom saying that they strongly agree.

Overall, the perceptions of workplace toxicity are on the rise for CEOs and employees, with 36 per cent and 35 per cent of HR professionals and employees agreeing, respectively.

42 per cent of respondents who said that their workplace is toxic work in-person, while 45 per cent are hybrid workers. Unsurprisingly, remote workers (24 per cent) are significantly less likely to view their company culture as toxic.

Workplace toxicity has also proven to be one of the key factors behind an overall decline in mental well-being, particularly among CEOs.

In fact, the survey found that there are significant mental health challenges across different segments of the workforce, with 50 per cent of all employees stating that they have experienced mental health issues over the past year.

55 per cent of CEOs interviewed said that they have had some form of mental health issue such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This marks a sharp rise of 24 percentage points from 2023.

This decline in mental well-being does not come as a surprise, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, many people’s lives have been filled with challenges coming from every angle. These range from financial strife to political tensions.

However, Businessolver’s 2024 report found that working in a toxic environment is a key instigator to mental health issues.

Overall, employees who said that their workplace is toxic were 47 per cent more likely to cite mental health issues when compared to those who did not state that they have a toxic workplace.

This statistic is even higher for CEOs at 64 per cent.

Industrial-organisational Psychologist Mindy Shoss remarked that a toxic workplace is an abstract term that can be best summed up through a single word: Fear.

“If I had to distil it down to a core them, that theme would be fear. Toxic workplaces drain all the energy and excitement out of employees and replace it with fear,” Dr Shoss continued.

Indeed, the report found that 65 per cent of CEOs felt intimidated by co-workers, a rise of 17 percentage points from 2023. This was significantly higher than the 38 per cent and 31 per cent that HR professionals and employees respectively stated.

The data also highlighted that there is a certain stigma associated with individuals expressing empathy, the ability to understand and share feelings with others, in the workplace.

72 per cent of CEOs stated that they felt they will be challenged on their decisions should they use empathy, while 54 per cent said that they will end up not getting respected as much. 69 per cent remarked they fear that being empathetic will lead to them being viewed as a “pushover.”

Jon Shanahan, President and CEO at Businessolver, said that there is a lack of understanding about what empathy is and how to effectively put it into action.

“Barriers persist, especially for CEOs who feel they’ll be challenged or viewed as weak if they use empathy. This ‘empathy stigma’ gets in the way of showing empathy in their day to day, which in turn can have a negative ripple effect on company culture,” he remarked.

He noted that many organisations “lack a clear game plan” for building a culture of empathy, which is understandable given that it is challenging and has no one-size-fits-all solution.

Businessolver proceeded to suggest three categories for action in order to encourage empathy at the workplace: supporting the professional, supporting the whole person, and supporting their community.

“The professional persona seeks meaningful career development, clear roadmaps for advancement, greater autonomy, and consideration for flexible working arrangements among other meaningful behaviours rooted in empathy,” the report stated.

It added that in order to support the whole person, employers need to acknowledge and support employees’ need to balance responsibilities at work and home.

Additionally, employees also want to feel at home both at work and beyond. Therefore, organised initiatives with the aim of supporting the community are all high up in employees’ desires.