Amid widespread upheaval in the global economy, workplace relationships may be suffering.
In the latest edition of its annual Trust at Work survey, public relations giant Edelman found that workers’ trust in their colleagues has fallen to its slowest point in the survey’s history, dropping to 73% from 82% in August 2024. Trust in direct managers fell to 72% from 79%, while trust in CEOs fell to 66% from 70% — both also record lows.
The report, which surveyed nearly 34,000 respondents in 28 countries, suggests change may be to blame. More than three-quarters of respondents said they have experienced at least one “transformation” in the past year, such as implementation of AI and strategy shifts, about one-third of whom had a negative experience.
This era of change has put trust in businesses at risk, writes Edelman chief executive Richard Edelman.
“Business has been on a great run as the most trusted institution, but transformation is the hinge point,” he writes. “If transformation goes poorly, it will go back to all the bad things once assumed about business — profits over people, employees are just numbers, and the like.”
Another factor that may be contributing to the erosion of trust is the threat of job loss, with three quarters of workers saying they fear unemployment due to tariffs, automation, offshoring, and lack of training.
Political friction is another potential culprit, with the percentage of workers who feel comfortable discussing societal issues like discrimination (down 9 points to 56%) and climate change (down six points to 65%) with colleagues who disagree also in decline.
Indeed, trust issues in the workplace don’t seem to be going away any time soon. Recent studies have found that just 13% of Gen Z believe most people can be trusted and that 47% of Gen Z have quit a job due to lack of trust in leadership. Gen Zers are also 16 times as likely to say they don’t trust their coworkers as members of Gen X.
But the key to rebuilding trust in the workplace is navigating the current moment of change, Richard Edelman says.
Managing change is “the central business leadership challenge of our moment,” he writes. “It can drive a wedge in your organization or accelerate its growth.”
