Nearly nine in 10 CEOs believe employees trust their leadership, but just 46% of workers agree, as new research exposes a widening trust gap around AI-driven change.
Four in 10 employees say their CEO has not been transparent enough about how artificial intelligence will affect their roles and career opportunities, according to new global research from Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The findings reveal a significant gap between how CEOs believe they are perceived and how employees actually experience their leadership. Nearly 90% of CEOs say they are confident employees trust them, yet only 46% of employees agree.
The disconnect is especially pronounced around AI. While 40% of employees want greater transparency about how AI will affect their jobs and careers, only 15% of CEOs worry that their approach to AI transformation could damage employee trust. The findings suggest that as organisations accelerate AI adoption, the challenge is no longer simply technological. It is becoming a leadership and trust issue.
THE AI TRUST GAP IS WIDENING
The findings come from the second edition of BCG’s CEO Insomnia Index, which examines how CEOs are navigating pressure, organisational change and AI-driven transformation. The research is based on global surveys of 645 CEOs of leading companies with at least $100 million in revenue and 500 non-executive employees, alongside five years of CEO turnover data from the S&P 1200.
The latest edition also incorporates employee perspectives, allowing BCG to compare how CEOs believe their leadership is experienced with how employees actually perceive it. “Historically, there’s always been this perception gap,” said Julie Bedard, BCG Managing Director and Partner and a member of the firm’s Global AI Leadership team. “Leadership teams, including CEOs, sometimes overestimate this type of trust, and I think it has only increased as the relationship between employer and employee becomes more transactional in some companies.”
The gap matters because employee trust appears closely connected to discretionary effort. Among workers who say their CEO’s handling of AI has increased their trust, 50% say they are more willing to go above and beyond at work than they were three months earlier. Among those whose trust has eroded, fewer than 10% say the same. That is a difference of more than 40 percentage points.
EMPLOYEES WANT CLARITY ABOUT WHAT AI MEANS FOR THEIR FUTURES
The findings suggest employees are not simply judging whether organisations are adopting AI successfully. They are also asking what AI means for their own roles, skills, workloads and future career opportunities. That reflects a wider pattern already emerging across workplace research. Seven in 10 workers say AI makes them feel more productive, yet workloads are not falling.
At the same time, six in 10 workers worry AI is weakening their skills, raising concerns about whether employees are being given enough clarity about how jobs will evolve. The same survey found many organisations are pushing employees to use AI without always explaining how the technology connects to wider organisational goals. The common thread is becoming increasingly clear. AI adoption without workforce transparency risks becoming a trust problem.
EMPLOYEES ARE JUDGING ACTIONS, NOT JUST MESSAGES
BCG argues that communication alone is not enough to build trust. “CEOs assume that since employees hear their words, that’s enough to build trust, but employees also judge CEOs by their actions,” said Matthias Tauber, BCG Managing Director and Senior Partner and Regional Chair for Europe, the Middle East, South America and Africa. “CEOs must be realistic in their words and consistent in their actions.”
That distinction matters because employees may hear leaders describe AI as a tool for augmentation, innovation and productivity. But they are also watching what happens to:
- headcount;
- workloads;
- hiring;
- promotion opportunities;
- investment in skills; and
- job security.
If leadership messages do not match what employees see happening around them, trust can deteriorate regardless of how often senior executives communicate.
THE WELLBEING TRUST GAP IS JUST AS WIDE
The disconnect extends beyond AI. Nearly 70% of CEOs say they are confident employees trust them to prioritise employee wellbeing when deciding how to fund critical business priorities. Only 36% of employees agree. That is a gap of more than 30 percentage points.
The finding suggests employees may judge wellbeing less by corporate statements and more by the choices organisations make when budgets, restructuring and performance pressures collide. Decisions around workload, staffing, automation and investment can all shape whether employees believe wellbeing genuinely matters.
This also connects with growing evidence that leaders themselves are under pressure. Only 17% of leaders feel ready for change, while nearly one in five frequently feel “used up”, according to DDI’s latest Global Leadership Forecast. Taken together, the research points to a dual challenge: leaders are struggling with the pace of change while employees are not always convinced those leaders understand or prioritise their concerns.
MOST CEOS ARE NOT WORRIED ABOUT EMPLOYEE DISCONTENT
Despite the trust gaps, 58% of CEOs say they are not concerned about rising employee disgruntlement. That is notable because the employee data suggests many CEOs may already be underestimating workforce sentiment.
If leaders believe trust is stronger than it actually is, organisations risk missing early warning signs around disengagement, resistance to change and retention. That is particularly significant during AI transformation, when employees may already be uncertain about how their jobs and career paths will change.
ONE IN THREE CEOS HAS CONSIDERED STEPPING DOWN
The research also reveals considerable pressure at the top. Some 34% of CEOs say they have considered stepping down at some point in the past six months. Among CEOs leading the largest companies in the study, that rises to more than 40%. Reasons cited include:
- better health;
- more family time;
- improved work-life balance; and
- a happier life.
- Interestingly, overall CEO stress has fallen slightly.
The CEO Insomnia Index stress score dropped to 64.2 out of 100, down from 66.7 earlier in 2026. That suggests lower reported stress does not necessarily mean CEOs are more willing to remain in their roles.
C-SUITE CHANGES MAY ADD TO UNCERTAINTY
The research also points to possible instability across senior leadership teams. Some 63% of CEOs are confident their senior leadership teams can execute their vision over the next two to four quarters. Yet nearly 60% say they expect to replace a member of their C-suite within the next six months. Among the largest companies, that rises to 70%.
BCG also notes that in the first CEO Insomnia Index, 26% of CEOs identified their CFO as the C-suite colleague posing the greatest threat to their own job security. For employees already navigating AI transformation, restructuring and shifting skills requirements, significant leadership turnover can add another layer of uncertainty.
AI TRANSFORMATION IS BECOMING A LEADERSHIP TEST
The BCG findings fit into a broader pattern emerging across workplace AI research. Organisations are moving quickly with AI, and many are already seeing productivity gains. But workforce understanding, governance and leadership capability are not always keeping pace. Four in 10 US workers using AI have admitted accepting answers they suspected were wrong.
Another recent study shows that one in four executives say AI errors have already reached boards or external audiences. And organisations with stronger trustworthy AI practices are 15 times more likely to report strong returns. BCG adds another dimension to that picture. Employees are judging AI transformation through the lens of leadership trust.
TRANSPARENCY DOES NOT MEAN HAVING EVERY ANSWER
The future impact of AI remains uncertain, and CEOs may not be able to say exactly which roles will change, which tasks will disappear or what productivity gains will ultimately mean for headcount. But transparency does not require certainty. It does require leaders to be clear about:
- what the organisation knows;
- what remains uncertain;
- how decisions will be made;
- which roles or tasks are most likely to change;
- what skills employees will need;
- what reskilling support will be available; and
- how AI productivity gains could affect workloads, jobs and progression.
Employees may respond very differently to hearing “we do not yet know” than to believing information is being withheld.
WHAT CEOS SHOULD DO
The research suggests leaders need to treat trust as a core part of AI transformation rather than assuming communication alone will protect it. CEOs and senior leadership teams should:
- explain what AI means for jobs and careers, not simply what the technology can do;
- connect AI strategy directly with workforce and skills strategy;
- communicate what is known and what remains uncertain;
- explain how decisions affecting jobs, hiring or restructuring will be made;
- show how employee wellbeing influences real business decisions;
- give managers enough information to answer employee questions credibly;
- invest in reskilling before roles are significantly redesigned;
- measure employee trust rather than relying on leadership perceptions;
- explain how productivity gains will be used;
- maintain communication through leadership and C-suite changes; and
- ensure business decisions reinforce leadership messages.
Most importantly, organisations need to recognise that employees judge trust through decisions as much as words.
MANAGERS NEED ANSWERS TOO
The transparency gap also has consequences for frontline managers. They are often the people employees turn to when asking:
- Will AI replace parts of my job?
- Will I still have a career here?
- What skills should I develop?
- Will productivity gains lead to redundancies?
- What happens if I cannot keep up?
Managers cannot answer those questions effectively if senior leaders have not given them enough clarity. AI communication therefore needs to move beyond CEO town halls and corporate presentations and become practical guidance that managers can use in everyday conversations.
THE COST OF GETTING TRUST WRONG
The difference in discretionary effort identified by BCG is particularly significant. Half of employees whose trust in their CEO’s AI leadership has improved say they are more willing to go above and beyond. Fewer than one in 10 whose trust has fallen say the same. For organisations investing heavily in AI to increase productivity, damaging employee trust during the transformation could therefore undermine some of the gains they are trying to achieve. Technology strategy and workforce trust cannot be treated as separate agendas.
Perhaps the most important finding in BCG’s research is not simply that employee trust is lower than leaders might hope. It is that many CEOs do not appear to realise how large the gap is. Nearly nine in 10 believe employees trust them. Fewer than half of employees agree. Nearly seven in 10 believe workers trust them to prioritise wellbeing. Only 36% do. And while four in 10 employees want greater transparency about AI’s impact on their careers, only 15% of CEOs worry their AI approach could erode trust.
Before organisations can rebuild trust, leaders may first need a more accurate picture of how employees are experiencing change. As AI continues to reshape jobs and careers, the organisations that manage the transition most effectively may not simply be those with the strongest technology strategy, but also those whose employees believe leaders are being clear, consistent and credible about what comes next.
RELATED ARTICLES
Despite widespread AI adoption and rising investment, nearly half of mid-sized companies lack clear accountability for how employees and AI work together, new research reveals.
Seven in 10 employees say AI is making them more productive, yet workloads remain virtually unchanged, reveals new research.
Six in 10 employees worry AI is weakening their skills, while 43% say they get the blame when AI goes wrong, new global research reveals.
Only 24% of people globally regard business leaders as trustworthy, according to the latest Ipsos Global Trustworthiness Index, while just 23% trust AI chatbots.
Nearly one in five leaders frequently feel “used up”, while just 9% are fully engaged and only 14% feel very prepared to use emerging technologies successfully, reveals global study.
More than four in 10 US workers surveyed who use artificial intelligence (AI) at work have knowingly accepted an AI-generated answer they suspected was wrong because it was faster or sounded convincing, according to new research.
Organisations with strong AI governance, data quality, explainability and accountability are 15 times more likely to report strong returns from artificial intelligence investments, according to new global research.
