🎭 100% of CXOs at toxic companies call themselves empathetic leaders

A lot of executives will tell you their company is thriving and that they lead with empathy.

New research suggests both claims can be true at the same companies. The uncomfortable part: the businesses posting the strongest growth right now are disproportionately the ones whose own leaders call the culture toxic.

What's happening looks more like empathy getting overridden by the demands of an AI-era growth race, where boards want cost discipline now and healthier culture later.

COMING UP

• 🎭 100% of CXOs at toxic companies call themselves empathetic leaders, even as their layoffs run 2.6X higher than peers.

• 💼 54% of workers would take a pay cut for job security, and they've got a specific list of what else they'd give up too.

• 🎯 19% of Gen X workers don't expect to ever retire, and inflation is the biggest reason why.

• 👕 One retailer's talent pipeline starts at age 6, and applications are up 55% because of it.

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INSIGHT OF THE DAY

🎭 CXOs at toxic companies call themselves empathetic

For years, the assumption has been that empathetic leadership and financial performance move together.

New research complicates that story: some of the highest-growth companies right now are also the ones their own executives describe as toxic.

The Say-Do Distance, In 4 Numbers:

• 🚀 CXOs at toxic companies are almost twice as likely to report significant financial growth as their peers (70% vs. 36%).

• 😨 73% of CXOs in toxic cultures say they feel intimidated by their own coworkers.

• 🤝 80% of employees still trust their leaders even when they describe the culture as toxic.

• 💵 66% of employees say they'd take a pay cut to work for a genuinely empathetic employer.

Read more: Businessolver: 2026 State of Workplace Empathy 

💼 54% would take a pay cut for security. 39% won't give up anything.

Compensation used to be the clearest signal of whether an offer was worth taking.

New survey data shows plenty of workers are now willing to trade away a piece of that pay, in exchange for a job that still feels like it will be there next year. This gives HR a new lever to reach for beyond salary bumps: proving the role and the company are actually stable.

4 Things Workers Would Trade for Stability:

• 🎁 26% of workers would accept smaller bonuses or incentives for greater job security.

• 🛋️ 26% would give up workplace perks or benefits for the same trade.

• 🏠 23% would give up flexibility, including remote work, for more stability.

• 🏥 17% would accept higher health insurance costs in exchange for job security.

Read more: Monster: Job Security Statistics

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🎯 19% of Gen X workers won't ever retire, and yours might be one of them

Gen X has spent its career absorbing one economic shock after another, and retirement planning has taken the hit each time.

For a growing share of this generation, retirement is pretty much off the table as a fixed destination. That changes what succession planning and phased retirement conversations need to look like for the workers currently closest to that stage of their careers.

Why Retirement Keeps Slipping Out of Reach:

• 📆 Another 19% of Gen X workers plan to work until age 68 or later, well past the traditional retirement age.

• 💳 58% say their income barely covers their expenses or doesn't cover them at all.

• 📊 64% blame recent inflation for hurting their finances, more than they blame the 2008 recession or the dot-com bust.

• 😟 53% say past economic downturns shook their confidence in their retirement plan, including 20% who lost confidence in it entirely.

Read more: Zety: Gen X Financial Outlook Report

👕 What if your talent pipeline started at age 6? UNIQLO's bet paid off with a 55% jump in applications

Most companies think about recruiting pipelines in terms of college partnerships or internship programs.

UNIQLO Singapore starts years earlier, running hands-on programs for kids as young as 6 that introduce them to the brand's values long before they're eligible to apply for a job. The bet is that early affinity turns into stronger, more prepared candidates by the time they actually reach the hiring stage.

What HR Can Learn From UNIQLO:

• 🎓 UNIQLO offers multiple entry points, from a store internship to a six-day global management program in Tokyo, instead of one rigid career ladder.

• 🌍 Its Management Candidate program is open to graduates from any academic background, including those with no prior retail or business experience.

• 🏆 UNIQLO Singapore was ranked the most considered fashion brand in the January 2026 YouGov Awards.

• 🌱 UNIQLO Singapore was named a Champion of Good by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, the highest tier of corporate purpose recognition in Singapore, and a first for the brand.

Read more: HR Executive: The Philosophy Driving UNIQLO's HR Strategy

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