Last month I surveyed 75 CEOs and I wanted to better understand how they’re creating a work environment where their employees can do the best work of their lives.

Specifically, I looked at what CEOs are using to keep their employees engaged in the office and boost business performance.

As you know, the tech industry is so intense right now that employees are constantly weighing whether to stay with a company or resign.

Currently, the majority of big and medium tech companies have recalled their staff back to the office, which has divided employees, some feel productivity is much better working from home than in-office.

Early in 2024, when top CEOs sent memos recalling staff back to the office, the majority of people did not return and opted to resign instead.

After the dust settled, I noticed CEOs investing heavily in strategies to upgrade the work environment, boost productivity, and improve retention.

The competition has become so intense that there's now a noticeable level of poaching between competitors.

This whole exercise really made me think about what separates a positive workplace culture from a toxic one, and what signs actually reveal the difference.

1. 60% of CEOs offer housing stipends to keep employees close to the office, mainly to protect productivity by reducing commute-related lateness or absences.

2. 90% of staff take the stipend and stay near the workplace; only 10% opt for other living arrangements.

3. 75% of CEOs don't enforce strict check-in/check-out policies, signaling a shift toward trusting output over monitored attendance.

4. 55% of CEOs go beyond housing support to offer two daily meals, late-night Uber rides, gym memberships, and sauna access helping push retention up to 85%.

5. A striking 90% of CEOs don't prioritize work-life balance, with some companies running 12-hour workdays justified by perks like three daily meals, especially in high-intensity AI/tech environments.

6. Poor ventilation can cause fatigue by 3pm, yet only 30% of CEOs bring in experts to evaluate their office environment for employee health and focus.

7. Broader pressures like burnout, AI-driven job anxiety, layoffs, and the remote-vs-office debate are all compounding to make workplace culture harder to manage well.

60% of CEOs are giving out housing stipends to help employees stay close to the workplace.

The reasoning is that they fear a significant loss of productivity, but by offering the stipend, they reduce that lost productivity since employees are able to report on time.

Key Takeaway: The stipend isn't a perk for its own sake, it's a punctuality and productivity hedge disguised as a benefit.

90% of employees accept the housing stipend to stay close to their workplace, while the remaining 10% mostly reject it and opt for different arrangements.

Tech companies encourage their staff including new hires to stay close to the office.

Key Takeaway: High acceptance suggests the stipend meaningfully offsets the cost/inconvenience of relocating but the 10% who opt out are worth studying too.

I was shocked to learn that 75% of CEOs don't impose a check-in/check-out policy.

This surprised me because I know most tech companies are usually very strict about check-in and check-out times.

It means they trust their employees not to abuse the privilege, which is a good thing.

There's nothing more annoying than being shown your attendance record every week when your output far exceeds your daily attendance anyway but that's just my POV.

Key Takeaway: A majority of leaders are shifting from time-based monitoring to output-based trust a notable departure from the "strict tech culture" stereotype.

Another benefit I learned is that apart from the housing allowance, 55% of CEOs provide two meals a day, late Uber rides for those who work late nights, gym membership, and sauna access.

This has increased their employee retention to 85%. This is a solid package, and I've seen it attract the right talent as well as boost business brand image things you'd normally subscribe to in your personal life, you can get for free at your workplace.

Key Takeaway: Bundling lifestyle perks with core compensation correlates with an 85% retention rate turning everyday personal expenses into employer-funded loyalty tools.

Here's an interesting part: 90% of CEOs don't believe in work-life balance; only 10% believe in that culture, so it's no wonder some companies experience a high rate of employee burnout.

There’re two major companies I won't mention their names here, that told me they operate on a 12-hour working policy.

When I asked why, they said it's because they provide 3 meals a day and operate in a very high-intensity environment.

I thought, okay, so there's a catch. But overall, work-life balance is very important to employee productivity, though it depends on the industry you're in.

It's well known that in AI tech companies, having a social life is very hard which is probably why one CEO in this space has been quoted saying that craving work-life balance is a huge red flag.

Key Takeaway: There's a real tension here 90% of CEOs reject work-life balance as a priority, yet burnout risk rises sharply in exactly these high-intensity, long-hour environments.

Did you know that if your office isn't well ventilated, it will make your employees tired by 3pm?

Yes, this is because they're breathing stale air from morning till evening, and by the time it hits 3pm, you start to see the signs of fatigue setting in.

What I learned from the responses is that only 30% of CEOs hire top leading experts on healthy buildings to help them review and identify office space that is ideal for their staff.

I know the numbers are low, probably because most CEOs simply aren't aware of this, but it's actually very important for CEOs to have a well-ventilated office if they want 100% employee productivity.

Clean air may sound boring, but if your business depends on creativity and focus, it matters a lot, so it's something you need to prioritize in your investment.

Key Takeaway: Only 30% of CEOs are investing in air quality expertise, despite ventilation being a low-visibility but high-impact factor in sustained focus and energy.

Beyond the survey itself, this whole topic connects to a lot of what's in the news right now research keeps pointing to the same examples and data: statistics on burnout, AI anxiety among employees worried about being replaced, waves of layoffs across tech, and the ongoing tension around job security versus remote work.

What causes poor workplace culture usually isn't one single thing it's a mix of all these pressures stacking on top of each other, and that's exactly what CEOs are scrambling to manage right now.

Key Takeaway: Poor workplace culture is rarely caused by one factor it's the cumulative weight of burnout, job insecurity, AI-driven anxiety, and layoffs all landing at once, which is why CEOs are struggling to manage it.

From the data, you can see some interesting things happening in the tech industry.

Personally, I was shocked to see that some CEOs have a policy of 12 working hours per day, 6 days a week, though it does come with strings attached, like 3 meals a day provided.

But all in all, companies are different; it just depends on what the CEO wants and what they're trying to achieve.

Feel free to share the report, and if you’ve any comments, drop them below.