Earlier this year, Edelman launched their Trust Barometer at Davos. This report detailed the connection between healthcare, the workplace and trust, and how employers sit at the intersection of it all.
In the Trust Barometer’s latest special report, “Trust in the Workplace,” Edelman revealed the responses of nearly 8,000 employees in eight countries around the globe.. As a qualitative measure, trust is difficult to define in hard data. But with an approach that balances the quantitative and qualitative metrics that communicators encounter every day, the report delves into leadership confidence, economic optimism and more.
Here’s what I learned.
Economic optimism, position in the organizational chart, and job confidence in the workplace are closely related
The data showed that 79% of respondents trust their employers, earning the workplace a higher rating than the media, government or business. Further analysis showed that employee confidence varies greatly depending on economic optimism and one’s role within an organization.
Some notable data on economic optimism include:
- Economic optimism varied widely among associates and executives. There was a 39-point gap between the two groups, with 78% of executives saying they think it would be better in five years and just 39% of associates feeling the same way.
- Those who did not trust their institutions felt that they would be economically worse off in the long run, and those who trusted their institutions felt that things would turn out better. This shows that the link between trust in institutions and economic optimism is closely related.
This difference between executive and associate level employees didn’t just apply to economic perspectives, a hierarchical gap was also evident when looking at which ranks of employees trusted their employers and exactly who they trusted to tell them the truth.
- 91% of executives said they trusted their employers, while only 70% of associates did the same.
- 52 percent of executives report that they trust their CEO as a source of information, while 19 percent of associates trust their CEO to tell them the truth. However, 48% of associates reported that they trusted the words of their colleagues, while only 37% of executives felt the same.
While these numbers are stark on the surface, they provide insights into how communicators can act on confidence in their messages and empower employees to speak up to provide critical insights into company culture.
Amira Bargerexecutive vice president and head of DEI consulting at Edelman, told Ragan that these differences among executive members align with gaps in decision-making power within an organization, highlighting how it connects to communication and its work.
“Executives are more than 2.5 times more likely than associates to trust their CEOs, while associates are more likely to trust their peers,” Barger pointed out. “This underscores the importance of connection and relationships, which depend on psychological safety – a key focus for DE&I practitioners working to build belonging.”
She added that communicators can close this gap by building substantial feedback loops that allow employees at all levels to communicate openly, and that without them, trust will erode. When employers don’t trust their workforce, employers can’t expect employees to trust them.
“To truly harness employee trust, employers must create environments where feedback is valued, diverse perspectives are respected, and all employees feel empowered,” Barger continued. “This is particularly vital as new technologies such as artificial intelligence are reshaping the workplace.”
Tina McCorkindale, president and CEO of Institute of Public Relationssaid the proximity and connection between employees and executives is also a major factor in trust.
“The trust gap between employers and employees has remained relatively stagnant over the past few years, with proximity bias playing a key role – people tend to trust those closest to them, such as direct associates, family and friends, over distant figures such as CEOs. , the government or the media.”
The links between employee optimism and employee engagement and how to bridge the gaps
The report also showed how economic optimism affected employee motivation levels and efforts.
- 62% of pessimistic employees reported going beyond their roles for their employers, while 82% of optimistic employees reported doing the same.
- 70% of pessimistic employees reported feeling motivated to do their best work, while 85% of optimists felt compelled to give their all at work.
These numbers reveal correlations between optimistic employees and employees who will advocate for their companies externally.
- 40% of optimists reported posting weekly on social media about their company, while only 21% of pessimists reported the same activity.
- 77% of optimists reported that most of their posts about their companies were positive, and only 43% of pessimists said that most of their company-related posts had a positive tone.
This suggests that the more optimistic an employee is, the more likely they are to trust employers and serve as employee ambassadors. Without that trust, there’s little chance of building any of the cornerstones of a successful employer brand, whether it’s trust in leadership, clear communication, or a meaningful culture.
The biggest key to fixing these gaps is confronting them head on. In practice, that means giving employees channels like pulse surveys, town hall questions and answers, and direct lines to communications and HR. With qualitative data from these touchpoints, communications and HR can marry it with hard numbers on recruitment, turnover and performance to demonstrate to management that material change is needed. The path of trust must truly flow in both directions to function well and foster a happy and engaged employee population.
“By addressing these divides,” Barger said, “organizations can build stronger engagement, loyalty and resilience in their workforce.”
Join Tina McCorkindale along with leaders from Microsoft, the NFL, Clorox, LinkedIn and more at Ragan’s Internal Communications Conference, which will be held at Microsoft headquarters in Seattle, October 16-18. Register today!
Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time, he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.
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