Edelman Trust Barometer sees the crisis of trust as an opportunity for business

The Covid 19 pandemic, with its impact on health, the economy and society, has accelerated an "erosion of trust" worldwide, according to the latest Edelman Trust Barometer, to which the Farner agency has detailed access as a Swiss affiliate.

This is reflected, for example, in the significant loss of confidence in the two largest economies, the USA and China. The governments of the USA and China are viewed with great distrust by respondents in 26 other markets surveyed worldwide. Only 40 percent (USA) and 30 percent (China) of respondents said they had confidence in the leadership of the two superpowers.

Most notable, however, is the decline in confidence among its own citizens: the U.S., already in the lowest quartile of the confidence scale, has seen a further 5-point drop since the November 2020 presidential election, while in China, confidence has fallen 18 points since May 2020.

Crisis of leadership, infodemia and loss of trust

This development of the crisis of confidence over the course of the last year is evident in governments worldwide: they were temporarily the most trusted institution in May 2020, when people trusted them to fight Covid-19 and bring about an economic recovery. However, they failed the test in the eyes of the respondents and gambled away the "leap of faith" again. Governments are therefore the institution that lost the most ground in the Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 in the second half of 2020 (minus 8 points worldwide).

In the face of declining trust, people are looking for leadership and solutions, while rejecting personalities they don't find credible. In fact, none of the social leaders Edelman studied - government officials, CEOs, journalists or religious leaders - are trusted to do the right thing. Trust scores for all of them are dropping.

Without trust in reliable sources of information, "infodemia," the chaotic flood of disinformation, false claims and rumors, is rampant. This global phenomenon has driven trust in all news sources to all-time lows, with social media (35 percent) and owned media (41 percent) receiving the lowest trust ratings. Traditional media (53 percent) saw the biggest drop in trust globally, down eight points.

Misinformation also hinders the fight against the pandemic, as mistrust of vaccines remains high. In fact, the survey shows that among those practicing poor information hygiene (not verifying sources and/or not ensuring that credible, factual information is shared), willingness to vaccinate within one year of availability is significantly lower (59 %) than among those with good information hygiene (70 %).

Pandemic fears also make it difficult to return to work. 58 percent of employees who opted to work from home did so in 2020 out of fear of infection.

Great opportunity with high commitment to the economy

Hope for a recovery in trust comes from the business community. The Trust Barometer 2021 shows that it is not only the most trusted of the four institutions surveyed (61 %; NGO: 57; governments: 53; media: 51), but also the only entity that is seen as both ethical and competent.

So when there is a trust gap around governments, people expect business to step in and fill the gap. This high expectation for business to address and solve current challenges has never been more evident.

Along with the increased expectations of business comes the demand for CEOs to focus with equal determination, prudence and energy on the social engagement with which companies pursue their own business success.

But not only have expectations of business increased, new requirements are also emerging. For example, the most important trust-building measure for companies is ensuring the quality of information so that reliable and trustworthy information is passed on to employees and thus also to society.

In fact, more than half of respondents (53 percent) believe companies even have a responsibility to fill the information gap created by mistrust in news media.

Roman Geiser, Managing Partner of Farner Consulting AG, which represents Edelman in Switzerland as the exclusive Swiss affiliate of the world's largest agency network, explains the relevance of the data: "Trust remains the most important currency for lasting relationships between the four institutions studied by Edelman and their various stakeholders. Especially in times of turbulence and volatility, trust is what holds society together and where growth rebuilds and recovers."

On the importance of communication, he adds, "Business must embrace its expanded mandate and corresponding expectations, with CEOs taking the lead on a number of unfamiliar issues. The important thing is to take meaningful action first, then communicate about it. Leadership ambition must be accompanied by empathy. It takes courage to speak plainly. But people's fears must also be reflected."

"In Switzerland, we are in the fortunate situation of having generally stable institutions, a robust economy and still functioning social compensation systems. But even here, weaknesses in the system are becoming apparent and there is a need for reform. Swiss entrepreneurial personalities now have a great opportunity to position themselves and their companies sustainably on central social or political issues and thus show people a way out of the crisis of confidence."

Steve Heywood, EMEA Head of Affiliates at Edelman, adds, "In the 21 years of the Edelman Trust Barometer, 2020 trust has arguably been tested as never before. While people expect their leaders to provide answers and solutions to unprecedented social, political and health challenges, the Trust Barometer results show that leadership is failing to meet these demands."