In 2018 it seemed that trust was polarizing, in 2019 A timid recovery of confidence appeared, in 2020 the report came out before the pandemic, and pointed out that ethics and competencies were the key to Trust. And 2021 it already reflected a major drop in the wake of Covid responses.
Now in 2022 the direction points to governments and the media feeding a new cycle of distrust.
The report is very comprehensive and shouldn’t take more than 10 mins to read. But, if you are in a hurry, we have got you covered. Here are the key findings:
- Business is still only the trusted institution.
- Government and Media see a decline in trust as people perceive them as a dividing force in society.
- Barometer shows there are four forces at work that could destabilize society if left unchecked:
· Government-media distrust spiral.
· Excessive reliance on business.
· Mass-class divide.
· Failure of leadership.
- Distrust has become society’s “default emotion”, with 60% of people inclined to “distrust until they see evidence something is trustworthy”
- Trust has gone from hierarchical to local and dispersed, as people trust my employer, my colleagues, My family, my company.
- 88% of institutional investors subject ESG to the same scrutiny as operational and financial considerations.
- Information quality now most powerful trust builder across institutions.
- ‘My employer’ remains the most trusted institution (77 percent), with communications from ‘my employer’ viewed as the most believable source of information (65 percent).
- Across every single issue, by a huge margin, people want more business engagement, not less. The role and expectation for business has never been clearer, and business must recognize that its societal role is here to stay.
- By an average five-to-one margin, respondents want business to play a bigger, not smaller, role on climate change, economic inequality, workforce reskilling and racial injustice.
- Rebuilding trust will require institutions to provide factual information that breaks the cycle of distrust, while leaders must focus on bringing people together on common ground issues – and on long-term thinking and making clear progress on areas of concern.
Inspired Companies Insight:
As we touch a lower level of trust amongst all institutions, it is time for the corporate sector to show the best version of business. Businesses need to step up, be authentic in their ways of doing business, provide accurate information and be in persistent pursuit of a purpose greater than the business. Invite the crowd in and let them help you navigate through the current challenges of running a successful business.
