CIO OPINION
37 % of professionals in South Africa would rethink accepting a job offer based on a company ’ s CEO , even if they liked their line manager .
Samantha-Jane Gravett , Director ,
Robert Walters Africa
Why African workers may
trust or distrust their CEOs
African professionals want to know that leaders sitting at the helm of major companies know what they are doing and can lead with confidence , as well as maintain an empathetic and listening ear to employees , says Samantha-Jane Gravett at Robert Walters Africa .
According to a Robert Walters poll , almost half of professionals feel that the CEO has the biggest impact on a company ’ s culture , 45 % – with a further third , 35 % stating mid -management are just as influential . Interestingly just , 17 % feel that it is the overall employees of an organisation that have an influence of the workplace culture .
According to the poll of 2,000 white-collar professionals , 64 % trust the leaders of their organisation to do what is right . While there is a level of distrust in leadership with , 36 % stating that they somewhat do not trust leaders will do the right thing .
The findings come from new research from specialist recruitment firm Robert Walters , unveiling the significant role CEOs and leaders are having on workplaces and professionals in South Africa .
Over the past year and a half , there has been a noticeable increase in the visibility and influence of CEOs and leaders in various sectors , extending from government officials to celebrities and influencers .
Anyone who has a significant voice is feeling the pressure to use it wisely and increasingly are expected to comment or provide a perspective on a host of different issues .
With this voice comes judgement , and these polls showcase that prospective employees are in fact making career decisions based on a CEO ’ s opinion , or lack thereof .
Testament to this , is the recent news of Sam Altman , CEO of research company OpenAI , being fired by the company ’ s board and reinstated in less than a week .
38 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com