Trust Shrinks Beyond Grievance into Insular Camps, Global Survey Finds
The global degradation of trust has moved beyond polarization, beyond grievance, and is creeping into insularity, where people are increasingly reluctant to trust anyone different from them, according to the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer.
The global report has measured the state of trust across dozens of countries for more than 25 years. It has documented how trust has changed from the fall of the celebrity CEO in 2002 to a lapse of trust in government in 2012 to high levels of polarization in 2023.
This year, Edelman found that economic uncertainty, unmitigated fears, and pessimism have fueled a turn inward to safety and certainty within strictly defined camps. To earn trust, entities must be perfectly aligned with each individual’s values—a tough needle to thread in a complex world.
Feeling Down About the Future? You’re Not Alone
Of the nearly 34,000 people in 28 countries Edelman surveyed, only 32 percent said the next generation will be better off compared to today. Few countries exhibited an increased optimism on this front—only Nigeria had a double-digit improvement in optimism, with a 15-point increase. U.S. survey respondents were notably downcast, with only 21 percent believing the next generation will be better off—a 9-point drop from 2025. India and China showed the biggest declines, with losses of 13 points each.
Economic factors are shaping that negative outlook; 66 percent of respondents said they worry about international trade and tariff conflicts hurting the company they work for, and 67 percent said they worry about losing their jobs as a result of a looming recession.
Meanwhile, technological factors are making people nervous, too. The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has made 54 percent of low-income workers feel like they will be left behind, rather than gain any advantages from AI adoption. Only 31 percent of high-income workers say the same. In the UK and United States, more than 65 percent of low-income workers fear they will be left behind.
Us Versus Everyone Else
Seventy percent of people are unwilling or hesitant to trust someone whose values, facts, problem-solving approaches, or cultural background differ from theirs, the Trust Barometer found. Not only does this insularity increase societal divides, but it has notable workplace ramifications, too.
Among employees surveyed, 42 percent said they would rather switch departments than report to a manager with different views than themselves. Thirty-four percent said they would put less effort into helping a project team leader succeed if the leader had different political views than the employee.
Insularity can also increase a sense of grievance, the report said. Among people with an insular mindset, 61 percent said their sense of grievance against businesses, governments, or the rich is moderate or high, compared to 45 percent among those with an open mindset.
People with insular mindsets were also significantly less likely to trust institutions—whether businesses, NGOs, governments, or media—led by someone who differs from them in values, sources, approaches to societal problems, or background. Looking at business specifically, 71 percent of people with an open mindset would be willing to trust a business led by someone different from them, compared to 43 percent of those with an insular mindset.
People recognize the issues in this way of thinking, though. More than three-quarters of global respondents said that it’s a problem that people in their country distrust those with differences so much that they actively try to make things worse for each other. Nearly 50 percent said it is a large or crisis-level problem.
Moving Ahead with Trust Brokering
In an all-or-nothing insular trust landscape, it can be tempting to give up on convincing people that your institution is trustworthy. But it’s not impossible. Among respondents who said they already trust someone who differs from them (22 percent of respondents), they trust that person because they have an open mind, don’t try to change them, and are transparent about how they differ. Positive experiences also made an impact, such as helping that person or defending them in the face of criticism.
In the face of highly divisive social issues, respondents said that businesses can earn trust by:
- Encouraging people to cooperate on finding solutions without taking a side: 35 percent
- Supporting the position that is true to the organization's values: 28 percent
- Supporting my position: 13 percent
- Not taking any public position on the issue: 13 percent
Companies—especially those from foreign countries or regions that may be distrusted in the host country—can earn trust by:
- Investing in long-term community projects: 48 percent
- Hiring people from my community: 46 percent
- Helping my community recover from a crisis: 38 percent
- Donating to my community’s social organizations: 27 percent
People have high expectations for institutions to foster trust, but most aren’t fulfilling those mandates. More than 80 percent of people said governments are obligated to bridge divides and facilitate trust between groups who distrust each other, but only 39 percent said governments are doing a good job at it. Employers ranked much better; 75 percent of people said their employer had an obligation to foster trust, and 58 percent said their employer is doing well.
For businesses to continue to foster trust and cross-group participation in distrustful times, Edelman’s findings recommended that employers:
- Bring employees into the workplace to interact with people who are different from them: 74 percent
- Partner with unexpected organizations to initiate conversations: 68 percent
- Promote a shared identity and culture so that employees are reminded of what unites them, rather than divides them: 82 percent
- Build teams that will require people with different values to work together to succeed: 81 percent
- Provide mandatory employee training for engaging in constructive dialogue amid conflict: 80 percent
