The AI adoption challenge reflects a wider leadership test: how to build trust when disruption is constant. Leadership support fell sharply in 2025, but this year’s data suggests senior leaders are beginning to rebuild clarity and confidence.
% Knowledge Workers Agree
Pride and advocacy are strongest in environments where workers feel supported by leadership. Among workers in the Healthy WRI Zone, 89% are proud to work for their company and 87% would recommend it as a great place to work, compared with 28% and 23% in the Critical Zone.
% Knowledge Workers Agree
Trust in leadership is one of the strongest foundations of workplace health. In 2026, more than half of Knowledge Workers trust senior leaders to make the right decisions for employees (54%) and for the business (57%), with figures rising by 6 and 4 percentage points respectively year-on-year.
Amid ongoing uncertainty and disruption, workers are placing greater value on transparent and empathetic leadership.
More than half of Knowledge Workers say senior leaders communicate openly, demonstrate empathy, and lead by example. This represents a significant improvement from last year, when leaders were often perceived as prioritizing business transformation over workforce support as they responded to global disruption.
Trust in leadership is the foundation that makes adaptation possible.
When leaders show empathy and communicate openly, workers are better able to adapt and engage with change.