 |
The global economy is threatened by a wave of insularity that is cutting people off from the world beyond their immediate environment and making them more unlikely to listen to—or do business with—people from other countries or with opinions different from theirs, according to Edelman’s 2026 Trust Barometer.
“Global Report: Trust Amid Insularity” finds that out of almost 34,000 respondents from 28 countries, seven out 10 say they are either unwilling or hesitant to trust someone with different values, approaches to social issues, backgrounds or information sources.
While the U.S. is on par with the global average on the report’s “insular trust mindset” scale at 70 percent, other countries are taking the trend even further. Mexico (72), Canada (73), the UK (76), Argentina (77), Ireland (80) and Germany (81) are all even more resistant to the world outside their borders, and Japan tops the list at 90 percent.
This insularity holds when it comes to the difference in trust levels between companies headquartered in a respondent’s home nation and those in foreign countries. Canada has the biggest trust gap in that regard, with 75 percent saying they trust Canadian companies, and only 44 percent trusting companies headquartered outside their country’s borders—a 31 percent gap. In the US the gap is narrower, with 60 percent trusting home-grown companies as opposed to 44 percent for foreign countries—a 16 percent gap.
Over a third of respondents (34 percent) also said that they would support lowering the number of foreign companies in their countries, even if it resulted in higher prices.
But national borders are not the only factor behind increasing insularity, the report finds. For example, the gap between the haves and have-nots is also much higher than it used to be. In Edelman’s 2012 study, that gap was six points (49 percent for those in top 25 percent of incomes, 43 percent for those in the bottom 25 percent). After rising to a 16-point gap (63 percent vs. 47 percent) in 2022, the gap has remained high—hitting 15 points (63 percent vs. 48 percent) this year.
 |
Differences in values are becoming impermeable barriers that have a surprisingly strong effect on productivity in the workplace. More than four out of 10 (42 percent) of employees surveyed said they would rather switch departments than report to a manager with different values. Nearly as many (34 percent) said that if a team leader did not share their values, they would put less effort into helping their team succeed.
To address how some of the issues behind this growing problem are impacting the workplace, the report suggests “Trust Brokering,” a process that counters insularity by working to facilitate trust across areas of difference. Conducted by an employer, it brings the interests of all the separate, insulated parties involved to the surface and works to make them understandable—and potentially solvable.
“We are becoming inflexible, and incoherent in our cocoons,” said Edelman CEO Richard Edelman. “The risks to society from manic swings in popular sentiment and rejection of innovation are real. Self-righteous certainty must give way to belief in the future, guided by My Employer as the leading trust broker.”
While the danger of being on the president’s bad side is seen as a major source of concern for brands, the potential negative effects of artificial intelligence pose an even greater reputational threat, according to Global Situation Room report.
While predictions of economic improvement in the coming year from corporate and financial decision makers are down slightly from last year’s numbers, the overall outlook is still strongly positive, according to a new survey from Teneo.
A strong overall digital presence has become a must-have for CEOs—not just a strategy for dealing with a crisis or market announcement, according to a new study from H/Advisors Abernathy. However, making that presence an effective one is not as simple as it might seem.
Most B2B marketing execs expect to have more money to work with in 2026, according to a new report from 10Fold.
Seventy percent of decision makers at US life sciences companies are bullish about what 2026 holds for their businesses, but challenges in the capital markets, shifts in political and policy issues, and the persistence of cybersecurity threats are tempering that optimism, a new report from FTI Consulting finds.
