s and founders at Dusk, Adore Beauty, Ted Baker, Coles and Coles Liquor, Redbubble, Macy’s, Metcash Food, Culture Kings, and HoMie step down, among others.  Most of these announcements involved the CEO in question wanting to spend more time with their family, or take on new opportunities elsewhere, but this language undersells the severity of the situation. The fact is, according to data from Deloitte, C-suite executives are struggling.  According to Deloitte, 81 per cent of C-suite executives believe that improving their well-being is more important than their career. Most say work is an obstacle to that well-being, and many say they can’t disconnect from work, even when at home, because the workload when returning is “unmanageable”.  As a result, almost seven out of 10 executives are thinking about quitting their job. Pivot party Karen Gately, founder of leadership training firm Corporate Dojo, told Inside Retail that while the individual details may differ for each leadership transition, there is a throughline of burnout pervading the workplace, with the pandemic having upended every known strategy for how to operate a business. “[During the pandemic], a lot of businesses were having to pivot really quickly. There was a lot of complexity and challenge in the [CEO] role, the landscape was shifting on a daily basis, and there was a lot of demand for the person in the leadership seat,” Gately said.  “It was a very demanding and taxing period.” Issues with supply chains and logistics have also remained in play, and inflation has continued to rise, causing the cost of doing business to grow as well. Further, the evolution of the workplace has been a challenge for many CEOs, with working from home being a major one.  According to research by Oracle, 85 per cent of c-suite executives have struggled with the transition to remote work, with 39 per cent finding it difficult to collaborate, and 34 per cent missing workplace culture. Gately noted that, while it is not necessarily true of all c-suite executives, many veteran retailers have spent an entire career learning one way of doing things, only to have that change significantly over  a short span of time. “For a younger generation, suddenly shifting to a flexible working model is an easier transition than someone who’s entire career pathway has had certain controls in place to manage their staff’s output, productivity and performance,” Gately said.  “If I’m in the c-suite, I’m ultimately accountable for my team’s performance, and if I can’t monitor and measure their progress and performance, I’ll start to feel uncertain about what is going on.” Resetting the c-suite It’s important for all workers to take burnout seriously, even those at the top. For retail CEOs and leaders to be at their best, Gately argues, they’ll need to make some changes moving forward.  “We’re well past the point of debating whether or not health and wellbeing in the workplace is a commercial priority,” Gately said.  “They need to lead by example to create a healthy workplace environment and culture, and demonstrate what that actually looks like. That starts with [managing our] mental, physical and spiritual health. .” The added benefit to this approach is that it leads to better mental health outcomes across the board, and makes the workplace more attractive for staff. “I think there’s more CEOs out there saying ‘actually, I worked really hard to become a CEO and this isn’t actually what I want’,” Gately said. “They’re looking for a better quality of life, and [are] realising that success in life isn’t just about being in the top seat.”