Huge number of CEOs fear losing their gigs in 2022, survey finds

A growing number of CEOs are worried about their job security due to business-related disruptions in the COVID-19 pandemic era, according to the results of a recent survey obtained by The Post.

A survey by management consulting firm AlixPartners found 72% of CEOs fear losing their positions in 2022. The number rose significantly compared to last year, when 52% of CEOs responded with concerns about their career prospects in the midst of the pandemic.

Of the respondents, 94% of the executives said their business models should be overhauled within three years. The spike in CEO anxiety coincides with major shifts in the business landscape since early 2020 as companies contend with supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and inflation.

“That’s eye-poppingly high,” AlixPartners CEO Simon Freakley said of the survey figures in an interview with Bloomberg. “Disruptive forces like the supply chain and labor market are all playing out simultaneously.”

The executives expressed concerns about the direction of their businesses given the recent challenges. The survey found 80% of executives worry the ongoing labor shortages will be permanent, while 77% said actions taken to address supply chain woes were not effective enough.

By comparison, just 3% cited the COVID-19 virus itself as the chief source of their worry.

“There are so many significant disruptions happening in every market, in every geography,” Freakley said. “But also, of course, CEOs found in 2020 as they were wrestling with COVID that actually, they did survive and they got through 2020.

“And then, of course, all the normal pressures of needing to drive revenue, needing to drive growth, were front and center again,” he added.

The AlixPartners survey included responses from 3,000 CEOs and top-level executives in 10 industries. The respondents were based around the world in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.