Half of All Professionals Think Their Company Is Headed in the Wrong Direction. Here's Why
As far as tech workers are concerned, the future is uncertain.
Half of all professionals think their company is headed on the “wrong track,” according to a recent survey of 6,465 verified professionals by the professional social network Blind.
Employees were the most bearish at financial services and technology companies in Blind’s analysis.
Economic headwinds have battered many of these companies, which were once COVID-19 pandemic darlings. Interest rates have increased recently and are expected to rise this year, putting a damper on consumer lending, home-buying and U.S. stocks, especially the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite.
Company outlook
At least three out of four professionals at Better.com (87% on the wrong track), Compass (75%) and Zillow (77%) expressed pessimism about the state of their company in Blind’s survey. All of the real-estate companies have recently laid off employees or slowed hiring because of the cooling housing market.
“Don’t join, don’t even consider. This company needs to figure out what they really want to do from a strategic point of view,” said a verified Compass employee in a discussion about the Compass hiring freeze on Blind. “So many tools out there which do things we are trying to build, and our build is below quality.”
In addition to embattled startup Better.com, T-Mobile (85% wrong track), PayPal (80%), Bank of America (76%) and JPMorgan Chase (72%) rounded out the bottom five.
In contrast, nearly every professional at NVIDIA (95%) believed the company was moving in the “right direction,” despite the chip-maker’s recent struggles with supply chain logistics.
A verified NVIDIA professional recently applauded great growth opportunities, a “loved CEO who is accessible and inspiring, leading innovative culture,” and a company that moves “fast and feels like a startup despite the size of the company” in a recent company review on Blind.
Effective leadership is key to employee outlook
Business leaders and executives may have more impact than they realize. Blind’s analysis found a strong correlation between the perceived efficacy of leadership and an employee’s positive outlook on their company.
The overwhelming majority of professionals at NVIDIA, Square, Tesla, Intel, ServiceNow, Intuit, Apple, Microsoft, Instacart and Stripe believed their company was on the right track, and nearly the same proportion at each company said their company’s leadership is effective.
“The new leadership is doing a good job bringing the company back on track,” wrote a verified Intel professional in a recent company review on Blind.
Last year, Intel hired Patrick Gelsinger as CEO. At the time, media reports said he was tasked with revitalizing the Silicon Valley titan, and professionals at the company believe he has done the job.
According to a verified Intel engineer’s review of the company on Blind, the tech giant has “interesting opportunities if you land in the correct team, good [work-life balance], good comp[ensation] with recent changes” and an “aggressive CEO” listed as another “pro.”
Similarly, Jack Dorsey, the founder and CEO of Square’s parent company Block, and Tesla Founder and CEO Elon Musk are regularly discussed and thought of highly by employees on Blind and its community of more than 5 million professionals.
The bottom line
Half of all employees believe their company is on the wrong track, according to the professional social network Blind. However, employee optimism is correlated mainly with faith in a company’s leadership. Strong and effective leadership can inspire a more positive outlook in the workplace and boost morale.
Methodology
Blind conducted an online survey of 6,465 verified professionals in the U.S. on its platform from March 28 to April 4, 2022, to understand employees’ outlook on their company’s performance and leadership.
When asked, “Do you think your company is going in the right direction or off on the wrong track?” survey respondents replied with either “right direction” or “wrong track.” Respondents also answered “yes” or “no” to the question “Do you believe your company’s leadership is effective?”
— With assistance from Rick Chen