Most CEOs are confident about the future of the economy and their own company
Most CEOs are confident about the future of the economy and their own company
Nearly 85% of CEOs feel confident about long-term growth prospects for the U.S. economy, according to KPMG’s latest CEO Outlook survey, which came out Thursday morning.
Most are also confident about their own company’s prospects over the next few years — though, notably less so than they were last year.
Last year, 95% of CEOs said they were confident about their own company’s growth prospects.
This year, just 79% are. Still high, but a big drop.
“I think it’s because we have more clarity now about the duration of certain structural changes in the economy,” said Paul Knopp, CEO of KPMG.
“For instance, higher [interest] rates for longer is certainly something you’re hearing a lot,” Knopp continued. “The stickiness or stubbornness of inflation, with higher food costs, higher energy costs and certainly, likely, higher labor costs going into the future.”
Even with all those negatives, most CEOs are still optimistic about their own company and the broader economy.
A growing number are also looking to get people back to the office. Last year, just 34% said they saw a future with employees back full time. Now, 62% do. The rest mostly envision a hybrid set-up.
Just 4% of CEOs see fully remote work sticking around.
“If they want them to come in, they need to give them something to come in for,” said Kate Lister at Global Workplace Analytics.
She said how companies communicate why they want employees back also makes a big difference.
“Some of the companies have said, ‘We’re going to ask you to come back two days a week, three days a week, whatever it might be. And here’s why. We think this, we think that, we’re going to experiment with it,'” Lister said.
And she said they’re not getting nearly as much pushback as companies that say, “You have to come back to the office because we said so.”
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