Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Highest Rated CEO In US, Apple’s Tim Cook Falls To 18th

According to Glassdoor company review data, Mark Zuckerberg has the best employee-approval rating of any CEO in the US.

Last year he wasn’t among the top 25. By the same token, last year’s top CEO, Apple’s Tim Cook, has fallen from number 1 to number 18 on this year’s survey.

Glassdoor’s company review surveys ask employees to “indicate whether they approve or disapprove of the way their CEO is leading the company.” Glassdoor said that “rating and rank in the 50 Highest Rated CEOs list was determined using the average approval rating a CEO received between February 25, 2012 and February 24, 2013. More than half a million company reviews were submitted to Glassdoor over past 12 months.”

Google CEO Larry Page is number 11 in 2013; last year he was number 5. In general, comparing the lists from this year and last year, there appears to be considerable fluctuation and movement.

While Tim Cook isn’t the only CEO who lost position in 2013, his fall may have something to do with Apple’s recent stock and PR troubles and employee dissatisfaction, accordingly. Or, it may be that he was benefiting from an initial honeymoon period while Apple was still flying high in the wake of Steve Jobs’ death.

But rather than a reflection of CEO ability or management skill, this list is probably a greater reflection of general employee morale and job satisfaction levels.