"Mentions of "misalignment" in employee reviews about senior leadership surged 149% from 2024 to 2025, while "disconnect" rose 24% and "distrust" climbed 26%, according to Glassdoor's newly released 2026 Worklife Trends Report. At the same time, small layoffs affecting fewer than 50 workers increased from 38% of all layoffs in 2015 to 51% in 2025. Together, these workplace trends signal a major realignment in how employees view leadership and organizational trust."
"Trust in leadership has hit a breaking point. Glassdoor ratings of senior management have dropped well below their pandemic peak as mentions of "misalignment," "disconnect" and "distrust" surge in reviews. "Workers are feeling whiplash from the emotional rollercoaster of the last six years," says Daniel Zhao, Glassdoor's chief economist. "At the height of the pandemic, leaders were transparent and vulnerable. Now many have reverted to corporate-speak, and workers no longer feel like their leaders have their backs.""
Hybrid work continues to redefine how employees connect, collaborate, and build trust with leaders. Mentions of "misalignment," "disconnect," and "distrust" in employee reviews rose sharply between 2024 and 2025, while small layoffs affecting fewer than fifty workers increased markedly over the past decade. 2026 is emerging as a reset year driven by new expectations, tighter budgets, and shifting power dynamics between employers and employees. Trust in senior leadership has declined from pandemic peaks as many leaders revert to corporate-speak and employees scrutinize responses to layoffs, return-to-office mandates, and AI adoption. Leadership transparency and recalibrated employee-employer relations are becoming critical.
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