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Edelman Trust Barometer 2024

 Special Report: Trust at Work

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A new polarization in the workplace

The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust at Work reveals a new polarization in the workplace, marked by a widening gap between associates and executives in optimism about their personal economic futures. This chasm is affecting performance, productivity, and mental health, and employers have an opportunity to close it to increase trust throughout society.
 

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Widening gap in economic optimism between associates and executives

Economic optimism among executives (EVP+) and associates (entry-level and non-managers) continues to diverge and associates feel left behind. Executives are 2.5 times more likely than associates to trust their CEO to tell the truth about what is happening within their organization, whereas associates are more inclined than executives to trust their coworkers. Notably, job level is a more powerful predictor of these trends than income.



 

Employers see upsides when employees have higher economic optimism

Economic optimists are more engaged at work, have higher productivity, more likely to advocate for and be loyal to their employer, and are more willing to embrace AI in the workplace.

 

Trust in institutions is dependent on economic optimism

As levels of trust correlate with levels of economic optimism, associates are also 32 points less trusting of institutions, on average across the four main institutions, than executives are.

 

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Trust at Work

The workplace can unlock economic optimism and build trust in society

 

Close the economic optimism gap

Employees at the bottom of the organizational hierarchy have half the economic optimism of those at the top. When that gap is closed, associates are more likely to invest discretionary effort into their work.

 

 

Upskill to unlock economic optimism

Many employees feel displaced by technological and organizational transformations. Highlight the opportunities disruption creates by incorporating flexible skill development into career pathing.

 

 

Act, don’t talk

Through career pathing, impact and agency, there is a potential 24-point boost in associates’ optimism. When employees feel like leaders act on their behalf, they are more optimistic and engaged in their work.

 

 

Through employers, build trust in institutions

When work helps people feel economically optimistic, they are more willing to prioritize the greater good. Employers should feel empowered to address societal challenges by improving the workplace experience.

 

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Top Findings

01

"My Employer" is most trusted
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Seventy-nine percent of employees surveyed globally say they trust “my employer.” The only other institution in trust territory is business (66 percent trust among employees globally), while trust levels are neutral for NGOs (57 percent), government (55 percent) and media (52 percent).

02

Trusting employees earns trust for employers
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When employees feel executive management does not trust them, they do not trust their CEO (only 25 percent trust), their manager (43 percent), or their head of HR (31 percent).

03

Employers expected to act
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Employees on the left, center, and right politically are more likely to say that if a company were to publicly demonstrate a commitment to issues like healthcare access, gender equality, and climate action, it would make them more likely – not less likely – to work there.

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Edelman Voices on the Findings

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My Employer: The Key to the Trust Puzzle

September 5, 2024

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A New Polarization in the Workplace: The Shocking Gap CEOs and Boards Must Close

September 5, 2024

New data from the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust at Work reveals an unexpected a...

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Watch our launch event

A presentation of the report findings was conducted by Edelman's CEO, Richard Edelman, and Cydney Roach, Edelman's Global Chair for Workplace Advisory. Isabel Berwick, Host and Editor, "Working It" Podcast and Newsletter, Financial Times, then led a compelling discussion with Ali Goldsworthy, Author & Lecturer, Leadership for Society Program, Stanford University; Felicia Joy, Executive Vice President, Workplace Advisory, Edelman; Karin Reiter, SVP, Sustainability & ESG, The Adecco Group; Liba Wenig Rubenstein, Director, Aspen Business Roundtable on Organized Labor, The Aspen Institute.

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Methodology

The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust at Work is in its 4th year. The research was produced by the Edelman Trust Institute and consisted of 30-minute online interviews conducted between July 19 and July 25, 2024. Learn more >

 

8 
Countries 

Nearly 8,000 
Respondents

 

 

 

Contact Edelman Workplace Advisory for a briefing

Workplace Advisory’s approach is built on 25 years of research on what constitutes trust and our passion is driving that trust outwards from the workplace to the marketplace to create new value.