The CEOs of Google and Apple both fell out of favor with employees this year - here's why, according to a survey of tech workers
- Glassdoor's annual 100 Highest-Rated CEOs report reveals both Apple's Tim Cook and Google's Sundar Pichai dropped heavily in the rankings, which are determined by anonymous employee feedback.
- Cook, in particular ,dropped 43 spots from his place in last year's report, distinguishing himself as the tech CEO with the biggest dip in rankings.
- A Glassdoor spokesperson told Business Insider that employees cited Apple's culture of secrecy and high stress for Cook's drop...
- ...and Google's growing corporate and bureaucratic work culture as the reasons behind the negative feedback for Pichai.
The past year hasn't been smooth sailing for the tech industry.
On Tuesday, Glassdoor released its annual 100 Highest Rated CEOs report, showing that CEO Mark Zuckerberg dropped six spots in the rankings. It's not particularly surprising, given Facebook's scandalous year - but Zuck still got off early compared with some of his tech CEO peers.
The report, which aggregates anonymous and voluntary employee reviews, shows Apple CEO Tim Cook dropped 43 spots to 96th place, landing him as this year's tech CEO with the biggest decrease in rankings. And Google's Sundar Pichai is almost in the same boat, having dropped 28 spots to number 45 from last year's 17th place.
So why the drop?
According to a Glassdoor spokesperson, Apple employee reviews cite and criticize the company's culture of secrecy, high stress and necessity to keep to a strict chain of command as the reasons for giving negative feedback. In other words, Apple's long-time reputation for secrecy and long work hours isn't changing any time soon.
Over the years, we've heard reports of how stressful it can be to work for Apple: Some employees didn't even know they were working on the first iPad until Steve Jobs showed it on stage. Former employees, too, have talked about the pressure to be on-call, 24/7.
As for Pichai, Google employees reviewed the company negatively based on their perceived shift in workplace culture toward a more corporate and bureaucratic environment, making it harder to get projects off the ground. Employees also shared their feelings that internal politics and favoritism made it difficult to land promotions and pay raises.
Still, both Cook and Pichai scored approval ratings of 91% and 94%, respectively, well above the average CEO approval rating of 69%, showing that they must still be doing something right.
Read the full report on Glassdoor.