NEW YORK, Jan. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2020 Edelman
Trust Barometer reveals that despite a strong global economy and
near full employment, a majority of respondents in every developed
market do not believe they will be better off in five years' time,
and 56 percent believe that capitalism in its current form is now
doing more harm than good in the world.
"We are living in a trust paradox," said Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman. "Since we began
measuring trust 20 years ago, economic growth has fostered rising
trust. This continues in Asia and
the Middle East but not in
developed markets, where national income inequality is now the more
important factor. Fears are stifling hope, and long-held
assumptions about hard work leading to upward mobility are now
invalid."
The concerns are wide-ranging and deep. Most employees (83
percent) globally are worried about job loss due to automation, a
looming recession, lack of training, cheaper foreign competition,
immigration and the gig economy. Fifty-seven percent of respondents
worry about losing the respect and dignity they once enjoyed in
their country. Nearly two in three feel the pace of technological
change is too fast. And there is no agreed-on truth; 76 percent say
they worry about fake news being used as a weapon.
A record number of countries are experiencing an all-time high
"mass-class" trust divide, spreading from developed into the
developing world. Globally, there is a 14-point gap between the
informed public (65) and the mass population (51). There are
double-digit gaps in 23 markets, including Australia (23 points), France (21 points), Saudi Arabia (21 points), Germany (20 points), the UK (18 points) and
Spain (17 points).
Business (58 percent) is the most trusted institution, taking
the lead role in global governance. The recent decisions by the
Business Roundtable to endorse a stakeholder model for American
multi-nationals, the initiation of Business for Inclusive Growth
focused on fair wages by French multi-nationals and the Business
Ambition for 1.5°C recognize the broader responsibility of the
corporation.
"Business has leapt into the void left by populist and partisan
government," said Edelman. "It can no longer be business as usual,
with an exclusive focus on shareholder returns. With 73 percent of
employees saying they want the opportunity to change society, and
nearly two-thirds of consumers identifying themselves as
belief-driven buyers, CEOs understand that their mandate has
changed."
CEOs are expected to lead from the front. Ninety-two percent of
employees say CEOs should speak out on issues of the day, including
retraining, the ethical use of technology and income inequality.
Three-quarters of the general population believe CEOs should take
the lead on change instead of waiting for government to impose
it.
"People's expectations of institutions have led us to evolve our
model for measuring trust," said Edelman. "Trust today is granted
on two distinct attributes: competence (delivering on
promises) and ethical behavior (doing the right thing and
working to improve society). It is no longer only a matter of what
you do—it's also how you do it."
This year's results reveal that none of the four institutions is
seen as both competent and ethical. Business ranks highest in
competence, holding a massive 54-point edge over government as an
institution that is good at what it does (64 percent vs. 10
percent). NGOs lead on ethical behavior over government (a 31-point
gap) and business (a 25-point gap). Government is perceived as both
incompetent and unethical but is trusted more than twice as much as
business to protect the environment and close the income inequality
gap. Media is also viewed as incompetent and unethical: a majority
(57 percent) don't believe the media does a good job of
differentiating opinion and fact but find them invaluable on
covering news (58 percent).
"After tracking 40 global companies over the past year through
our Edelman Trust Management framework we've learned that ethical
drivers such as integrity, dependability and purpose drive close to
76 percent of the trust capital of business, while competence
accounts for only 24 percent," said Antoine
Harary, president of Edelman Intelligence. "Trust is
undeniably linked to doing what is right. The battle for trust will
be fought on the field of ethical behavior."
Other key findings from the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer
include:
- Both business and government can take specific actions to
achieve a higher trust score. Respondents expect business to focus
on paying fair wages and retraining. For government, the actions
include reducing partisanship, addressing community-level problems
and partnering with business and NGOs.
- Local/state government (54 percent) is more trusted than
central/federal government (51 percent).
- While government remains tied with media as the least trusted
institution, it is the group most believe is best suited to address
the issues of healthcare (53 percent); income inequality (51
percent); immigration (48 percent); harmful products (42 percent);
and inclusion (41 percent).
- Technology (75 percent) remained the most trusted sector but
saw the biggest drop globally at four points. Several markets
experienced dramatic drops, including France (-10 points), Canada (-8 points), Italy (-8 points), Singapore (-8 points), Russia (-8 points) and the U.S. (-7 points).
And technology is no longer the most trusted sector in 9 of the 28
markets we survey, including Australia, Canada, Hong
Kong, Italy, Russia, Ireland, Singapore, The
Netherlands and the UK.
- No institution has a vision for the future that a majority of
respondents believe in: government (35 percent); media (35
percent); business (41 percent); NGOs (45 percent).
About Edelman
Edelman is a global communications firm that partners with
businesses and organizations to evolve, promote and protect their
brands and reputations. Our 6,000 people in more than 60 offices
deliver communications strategies that give our clients the
confidence to lead and act with certainty, earning the trust of
their stakeholders. Our honors include the Cannes Lions Grand Prix
for PR; Advertising Age's 2019 A-List; the Holmes Report's 2018
Global Digital Agency of the Year; and, five times, Glassdoor's
Best Places to Work. Since our founding in 1952, we have remained
an independent, family-run business. Edelman owns specialty
companies Edelman Intelligence (research) and United Entertainment
Group (entertainment, sports, lifestyle). For more information
please visit: www.edelman.com
About the Edelman Trust Barometer
The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer is the firm's 20th annual trust
and credibility survey. The survey was powered by research firm
Edelman Intelligence and consisted of 30-minute online interviews
conducted between October 19 and November
18, 2019. The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer online survey
sampled more than 34,000 respondents, which includes 1,150 general
population respondents across 28 markets and 200 informed public
respondents in each market, except China and the U.S., which have a sample of 500
informed public respondents each. All informed public respondents
met the following criteria: aged 25-64, college-educated; household
income in the top quartile for their age in their country; read or
watch business/news media at least several times a week; follow
public policy issues in the news at least several times a week. For
more information, visit https://www.edelman.com/trust-barometer.
CONTACT: Michael Bush,
212-729-2181, michael.bush@edelman.com
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2020-edelman-trust-barometer-reveals-growing-sense-of-inequality-is-undermining-trust-in-institutions-300989235.html
SOURCE Edelman