Employees Trust Employers Most

Employees trust their employers more than they do either the government or media, according to the newly released Edelman Trust Barometer.

“Trust in the Workplace” surveyed 7,000 employees across seven countries (US, UK, Brazil, Germany, Japan, India and China) and two-thirds (66 percent) of them said that they trust their employer. While that number represents a three-point dip from May 2022, that’s a smaller drop than was experienced by NGOs (58 percent, down six percent), government (52 percent, down 11 percent) or media (51 percent, down eight percent).

Globally, employers emerged with a 21-point advantage over the Edelman Trust Index as a whole, with that advantage being higher for countries such as the UK (30 points) and UK (27 points) and lower for India (13 points) and China (four points).

Employers also come out on top when it comes to judging how believable a piece of information is. More than six in 10 respondents (63 percent) said that if they see a piece of information from their employer two or fewer times, they will be inclined to believe it. That number drops to 55 percent when the source of that information is the national government, and 54 percent when it is from media reports that cite named sources.

Survey respondents said that trust is a two-way street between employers and employees. For the 71 percent of those surveyed who said that they feel their CEO trusts them, 92 percent trust their employer in return. Only 46 percent of those who think their CEO does not trust them said the same.

Employers seem to be doing a bit better at keeping partisan politics out of the workplace than one might expect. Globally, over half (54 percent) said their workplace feels less politicized than last year, a jump of four percent. And the US outscored all but India (69 percent) in that regard, with 65 percent saying that the presence of partisanship has dropped.

But even though partisanship may not be a desirable workplace attribute, survey respondents still voiced a strong preference for employers taking a stand on current issues. A majority of both Democrats and Republicans said they would be more likely to work for a company if it were to publicly support addressing such issues as healthcare access, racial justice and climate change.

Co-workers turned out to be one of the most important sources of community for survey respondents, with almost seven out of 10 (69 percent) agreeing. That number was topped only by “my family and friends,” which was listed by 82 percent. Lagging behind were categories including “people who share my personal interests” (64 percent), “my neighbors” (59 percent) and “members of my political party (49 percent).”

The survey was conducted in late July and early August.