Gen Z has long been berated for disengaging, but it’s higher up the ladder where the real damage is done. Welcome to quiet quitting 2.0: when the C-suite checks out but stays in

The business press has spent two years obsessing over “quiet quitting” among junior and mid-level employees. The bigger, more expensive problem is happening at the other end of the org chart. Boards and investors now face a growing wave of senior leaders who have mentally exited but remain physically present, often collecting seven-figure packages while the business drifts.

US data is flashing red. C-suite turnover hit its highest rate in five years in 2024, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Korn Ferry reports that average CEO tenure has dropped to 6.7 years from 8.4 a decade ago. PwC’s CEO Success Study found forced CEO exits due to “ethical lapses” have more than doubled in the past decade, but the bigger trend is quiet, voluntary disengagement before those departures. Some leaders are sitting out their final quarters or years, avoiding difficult decisions, delaying investment and prioritising optics over outcomes.

Europe shows similar warning lights. Heidrick & Struggles reported that one in four CEO transitions in EMEA during 2024 were unplanned, many tied to “fit and alignment” rather than performance. Russell Reynolds found that CEO turnover in Japan and South Korea has accelerated to levels not seen in two decades, driven by pressure to digitalise and the strain of navigating geopolitical shocks. The........

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