Being a CEO has many privileges: business leaders run the world’s most powerful companies, shape their legacies as industry pioneers, and earn billion-dollar salaries. But in the arduous climb to the top of the corporate hierarchy, many don’t notice the colleagues left behind — until they look down at the top. It’s lonely and isolated work.
Leaders at some of the world’s biggest companies — from Airbnb and UPS to PepsiCo and Apple — are finally opening up about the mental toll the role brings.
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Many industry pioneers are facing intense loneliness; At least 40% of executives are considering leaving their jobs, mainly because they feel low on energy and alone in dealing with daily challenges, according to a Harvard Medical School professor.
And the number could be even higher: About 70% of C-suite executives “are seriously considering changing jobs to one that better supports their well-being,” according to a 2022 Deloitte study.
To stave off the feeling of isolation, founders and executives have been looking outside the office for ways to take care of their mental health. Blake Mycoskie, founder of Toms, faced depression and loneliness after turning his small shoe brand into a billion-dollar empire.
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Feeling disconnected from his own purpose and feeling like his “reason for being now just felt like work,” he attended a three-day men’s mental health retreat.
Seth Berkowitz, founder and CEO of dessert giant Insomnia Cookies, valued at US$350 million, warns budding entrepreneurs: the role is “really not for everyone”.
“It can be lonely; it’s an isolated life. And it really is,” Berkowitz recently told Fortune.
Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb
Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, is one of the most open leaders in the business world when talking about loneliness. He described a lonely childhood, torn between his love of design and sports, never quite fitting in.
But his mental health worsened after he took over Airbnb. His two co-founders — who he called “family”, with whom he spent practically all his time — ended up growing apart when he reached the top of his job.
“When I became CEO, I started leading from the top of the mountain. But the higher you climb, the fewer people there are with you up there,” Chesky told host Jay Shetty on the On Purpose podcast last year. “No one ever told me how lonely it would be, and I wasn’t prepared for it.”
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Chesky recommends that new leaders share power so that no one carries the mental burden of entrepreneurship alone.
“I think today we live in one of the loneliest times in human history,” he said. “If people in the past were as lonely as we are today, they probably wouldn’t survive — because no one survives without their tribe.”
Indra Nooyi, ex-CEO at PepsiCo
Leaders at PepsiCo, a Fortune 500 giant, face constant pressure from consumers, investors, advisors and employees. But it’s also difficult to vent to someone who understands the challenges of running a $209 billion company. Indra Nooyi, former CEO of the company, said that she often felt isolated, with no one to talk to.
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“You can’t talk to your spouse all the time. You can’t talk to your friends because it’s confidential company matters. You can’t talk to the board because they’re your boss. And you can’t talk to your subordinates because they work for you,” Nooyi told Kellogg Insight, the research magazine of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, earlier this year. “It puts you in a pretty lonely position.”
Instead of venting to friends or online, Nooyi looked inward. She was the only person she could trust, even if it meant embracing isolation.
“I would talk to myself. I would look in the mirror, talk to myself. Shout at me. I would cry a little, then put on some lipstick and go out,” said Nooyi. “That was my refuge, because everyone needs one. And you need to be very careful who you have that refuge with — so you don’t run the risk of it being used against you.”
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Carol Tomé, CEO of UPS
Before taking on the role of CEO of UPS, Carol Tomé was warned that the top came with loneliness. The warning didn’t impress her—at least at first. But everything changed when she actually took charge of the $75 billion transportation company.
“I said, ‘How can it be so lonely? It can’t be so lonely.’ What I’ve learned since then is that it’s extraordinarily lonely,” Tomé told Fortune last year.
“When you’re part of an executive team, everyone stays together… Now, my team waits for me to leave the meeting to get together and talk. It’s reality, and you have to get used to it. But it’s very lonely.”
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Tim Cook, CEO da Apple
Apple CEO Tim Cook is also not immune to the loneliness that comes with the top job. Even after more than 14 years at the helm of the company, he recognizes his mistakes — the “blind spots” — that could affect thousands of employees if they are not corrected. Cook states that it is essential for leaders to get out of their own bubble and surround themselves with intelligent people who can help them evolve.
“It’s kind of a lonely job,” Cook told The Washington Post in 2016. “The saying that being a CEO is lonely is true in a lot of ways. I’m not asking for compassion.”
Seth Berkowitz, founder and CEO of Insomnia Cookies
Entrepreneurship can be a deeply rewarding journey—the chance to trade an ordinary job for a multimillion-dollar fortune, if all goes well. And while Seth Berkowitz loves being CEO and values its responsibilities, he warns young dreamers about the weight of the role.
Like Cook, he advises aspiring entrepreneurs to combat loneliness with genuine, meaningful connections.
“It can be lonely; it’s an isolated life. And it really is. [Nos] During the toughest times, it’s very lonely — finding camaraderie, mentorship and some sense of community is really important,” Berkowitz told Fortune. “As I get so deep into the work, sometimes it’s hard to find other people and let them reach out.”
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