Dentsu Inc. Conducts the 3rd "Employee Perception Survey on Corporate Transformation" — Amid a Sense of Stagnation in Corporate Transformation, the Key to Driving Change Lies with the "Positive Middle" and the Approximately 15% of Employees Driving Transformation

Dentsu Inc., in collaboration with the “dentsu Japan Human Capital Growth Center” —a cross-organizational body within the five domestic Dentsu Group companies that supports growth in the human capital domain—conducted the third"Employee Perception Survey on Corporate Transformation" (Survey Period: November 20–21, 2025).

Since the first survey in 2021, this survey has aimed to clarify how employees perceive the corporate transformations that various companies have been undertaking in recent years, with the goal of contributing to the realization of corporate transformation through the unified efforts of executive leadership, middle management, and frontline employees.

This survey revealed that employee attitudes and engagement toward corporate transformation are at a turning point, and that the very approach to transformation—including the relationship between companies and employees—is being called into question. Meanwhile, when the survey focused on middle management—the group responsible for propelling corporate transformation to the next stage—it suggested that “Positive Middle” may be the key to employees forming bonds with the company and participating in transformation.

The main findings from this survey are as follows.

[Key Findings]
① The "Change Drivers," who are the core human resources for corporate transformation, increased by 3.6 percentage points from 2023 to 15.3%, while the "Change Followers" saw a slight decrease, though overall awareness of transformation is trending toward recovery.On the other hand, the “Change Is Someone Else’s Problem Group”—the largest cluster, comprising those who “understand the need for change but cannot internalize it”—accounted for 26.5%, while the “Passive Employees Group” accounted for 22.2%, resulting in groups passive toward corporate transformation making up approximately half of the total.

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② While about 70% of respondents said their company “provides information” regarding its transformation, only about 20% have taken action themselves. Among the approximately 40% who are negative toward transformation, the reasons cited—following “transformation proposals are not understood or permeated within the company”—include an increase in “it does not lead to performance evaluations,” indicating that the presence or absence of personal benefits is a key factor.

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③ Regarding contributions to corporate transformation, “middle management” is highly regarded by executive leadership and others, but receives low marks from general employees. This reveals a clear discrepancy between the roles that frontline staff and management believe they should play.

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④ Approximately 60% of “middle management” utilizes AI for management tasks, raising expectations for improved efficiency in management operations.

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[Commentary by the Survey Coordinator]
This survey revealed that employees’ attitudes toward corporate transformation remain polarized, and “transformation fatigue” has become entrenched.The reason why information is reaching employees but failing to translate into action lies in the fact that transformation proposals are not sufficiently understood or permeating the organization, and employees lack a tangible sense that their actions will impact their performance evaluations. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that the “transformation advocates”—a group that had been declining from the survey before last to the previous one—has increased this time. Amid accelerating changes in the business environment, such as the widespread adoption of AI, it can be said that more people are beginning to take initiative on their own.

In this context, "middle management" is drawing attention as a central pillar supporting corporate transformation. The survey also highlighted a situation where, while middle management receives high praise from executive leadership for their contributions to corporate transformation, their evaluation by general employees remains low.

Middle management plays a crucial role in connecting corporate transformation to the front lines and integrating it into daily operations. However, from the perspective of general employees, there is a tendency not to hold such expectations for middle management. At our company (Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.), we define middle managers who proactively engage in transformation within this environment as “Positive Middle,” and we believe that their active contributions and the spread of their enthusiasm will lead to further advancement of corporate transformation.We look forward to continued efforts to create an environment where Positive Middles can exert their full potential within organizations.

[Survey Overview]
Purpose: To understand the attitudes toward transformation among employees (particularly middle management) and executives at large companies
Target Area: Nationwide
Eligibility Criteria: Ages 20–59 (employed at large companies, at the department head level or below); executives (employed at large companies)
Sample Size: 600 employees of large corporations
　　　　　 276 middle managers at large corporations (including 200 from a boosted survey and 76 from the group above)
　　　　　 100 executives at large corporations (boosted responses)
Survey Method: Online survey
Survey period: November 20–21, 2025
Research agency: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.

■Click here for the press release regarding this matter