How Perceptions Can Differ About Experiences In The Workplace

Forbes

23-05-2025

Who has a more positive view of how employees feel about their productivity and connections with companies— the employees or executives? The answer might surprise business leaders.
According to new research released today by The Conference Board:
Gaps in how employers and employees perceive these key issues could lead to bigger problems down the road for companies. 'The biggest consequence of ignoring those [and other]
The online survey for 'The Reimagined Workplace 2025: Managing Uncertainty' includes responses from 578 workers and 170 executives in the U.S., and was conducted in March and April 2025. This is the first time that the perceptions of executives were measured against those of workers. 'By comparing leader perceptions and worker realities side-by-side, it's clear that some leaders are underestimating how positively employees view aspects of their employee experience. While the disconnect wasn't measured explicitly before, this year's survey has quantified the perception gap and brought it into sharper focus,' according to Erickson.
In the other surveys conducted by The Conference Board (but not previous versions of the 'Reimagined Workplace'survey), most employees reported the same or lower levels of well-being. They also reported the same or lower levels of engagement, mental health, and other aspects of well-being, a spokesperson told me via email.
Companies could consider conducting periodic surveys of their employees to determine if there are perception gaps in their organization. Then executives can take the appropriate steps to tackle them,
There are several ways to hep bridge perception gaps. They include soliciting feedback through anonymous surveys of workers, conducting regular listening sessions, holding direct conversations, and acting on the feedback, Erickson told me. But it's important that executives show that they are being responsive to the feedback. 'Employees become disengaged when feedback is collected and ignored, so transparency around what is heard and what actions are being taken to address those concerns is imperative,' she pointed out.
To be in sync with employees, employers should take periodic reality checks to ensure they know what workers are experiencing. Otherwise, an employer's best intentions will fail. 'The biggest issue I see occurs when management has no idea what the day-to-day looks like for employees and then comes in with grand ideas and visions that, while great, have to then be executed by the employees who are left to clean up and manage the implementation of those ideas, Alexandra Suchman, a workplace expert, told me via email.
When there's no effective connection between employers and employees, 'it creates a culture of resentment and burnout as employees try to keep up with the ideas of someone who (whether they actually do or don't) doesn't seem to understand what they go through,' she observed.
The nature of the information that is being communicated to workers is also important. Executives might be proud of the fact that they are being transparent by sharing their priorities and metrics. But those efforts won't make any difference if employees really want to know 'the 'why' behind decisions… [and want]
Business leaders should be careful how often they share information with workers, and how it is shared. 'Executives often think more communication is the solution to every problem. But from the employee side, endless emails, town halls, and text messages can feel overwhelming, not empowering. Leaders sometimes assume big annual awards or bonuses are enough, but employees crave smaller, more frequent, authentic recognition for day-to-day wins,' Matthew Higgins, chief operating officers of Live Better Hearing + Balance, observed in an email message to me.
But communication and a shared vision about a company may not be enough to ensure that the perceptions of workers and employers are in alignment. 'It is about seeing and feeling the workplace the same way, and that is where the real gap often lives. Executives and employees usually agree on what matters, like purpose, impact, and flexibility, but the real disconnect happens in how those things are delivered and felt on the ground,' he concluded.
Corporate leaders whose perceptions about their employees' productivity, engagement, and productivity are in sync with those of their workers will send the right message that they are really listening and taking their concerns and issues seriously. Those who choose to ignore how employees feel about their workplace experiences run the risk of creating or compounding an internal simmering problem that could morph into something more serious.