Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, has long been the subject of public criticism since his firm has been held accountable for serious privacy violations, the distribution of false information, and the promotion of hate speech. But he’s also losing popularity with his own staff more and more.
For the first time since 2013, Zuckerberg was absent from Glassdoor’s annual list of top CEOs based on feedback from those CEOs’ respective workers. Glassdoor is an online platform that connects users to jobs and company ratings. The CEO’s job performance as well as the benefits and drawbacks of working for their firm were among the variables that employees ranked. They are also urged to give managers at their company suggestions.
The CEOs are then ranked by Glassdoor based on an algorithm that considers the number, caliber, and consistency of the employee feedback.
For the 2021 study, Zuckerberg’s approval rating dropped to 88% from years prior, when it was above 93%. Even in 2013, when he had a 99% approval rating, he came in first place. Comparatively, this year’s Big Tech rivals to Zuckerberg included Apple CEO Tim Cook at No. 32 and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at No. 6 with a 97% approval rating.
According to the report, employee support for Zuckerberg decreased by over 10% between October 31 and January 29. Unsurprisingly, the move takes place at a time when tensions are at their highest in relation to the 2021 U.S. Presidential Election and the subsequent riot at the U.S. Capitol.
MUST READ: Mark Zuckerberg has laid off 60 Meta employees ‘at random’
To put things in perspective, Facebook was criticized at the time for allowing President Donald Trump to post divisive remarks and false material on their platform with little repercussion. Because of the controversy surrounding the subject, Facebook employees virtually went on strike in June of 2020.
At the time, when alluding to the demonstrations following the death of George Floyd, Trump had said things like “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” To the dismay of his staff, Zuckerberg chose not to take down Trump’s posts, claiming that ultimately the service errs on the side of free expression.
Then, in January, it was claimed that radicals utilized Facebook groups to organize their attack on the US Capitol. Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, downplayed the company’s involvement in the riot’s organizing, saying that most of the organization took place on other social media platforms.
MUST READ: Mark Zuckerberg tells Joe Rogan he hates how the day starts as Meta CEO
Given its troubled past, Facebook has been planning how to mend its tarnished reputation. According to reports, increasing Zuckerberg’s public appearances as a means of promoting the businesses’ new initiatives and goods is part of that approach. In the meantime, Zuckerberg has significantly shifted from a strictly professional approach to a more personal one, posting images and anecdotes of his girls, his family life with his charitable wife Priscilla Chan, and even a video of himself hydrofoil surfing.
That might or might not change people’s opinions, but it will probably take more than a few crude jokes, a few images of the family, and some films of strange skills like spear throwing to earn back his colleagues’ respect.
