The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer measures global trust of of business, media, government, and non-governmental organizations. Despite a global decline since last year, business continues to be more trusted than the other institutions.
What’s new: This year’s report highlights the dramatic increase in grievance, with six in 10 respondents reporting moderate to high sense that government and business serve narrow interests and benefit the wealthy rather than regular people.
Why it matters: A high sense of grievance results in increased distrust of business leaders and the use of AI. Those with high grievance are two times more likely to have a zero-sum mindset believing that the gains of others are a loss to them.
Yes, but: Grievance demands more action from business, not less. Those with the highest sense of grievance believe that business is not going far enough to address issues like affordability, misinformation, and discrimination.
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More than 84% of respondents, whether low, moderate or high grievance, believe business is obligated to provide good-paying jobs and train or reskill employees to be competitive.
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At least 80% of respondents, whether low, moderate or high grievance, believe business is obligated to nurture workplace civility by facilitating discussions about contentious issues.
The bottom line: While the report highlights that each institution has a role to play, businesses must safeguard their positive reputation through effective communication, fulfilling their obligations, prioritizing the well-being of employees and stakeholders, and actively advocating for the organization.
