Two in five CEOs would rather quit than lead a large-scale workforce transformation.

Orgvue, the organizational design and planning software platform, today published research findings on C-suite attitudes to workplace transformation. Surveying 700 senior decision makers of organizations with more than 1,000 employees, the research found that two in five (38 percent) CEOs would rather quit than lead a large-scale workforce transformation project.

As pressure in the modern business environment intensifies, C-suite leaders see event-based transformation as a blunt instrument for cutting costs. 60 percent believe decisions about workforce transformation are driven by human emotion rather than rational analysis and 61 percent said they don’t give enough thought to planning transformation projects.

The research shows that cost take-out remains a top concern for C-Suite leaders. 63 percent of say cost-cutting is the primary motive behind their transformation and 74 percent are willing to go through transformation for this reason. Additionally, 64 percent of CEOs would rather conduct layoffs than miss earnings targets.