Sobering findings from latest Edelman Trust Barometer

The annual Edelman Trust Barometer report always makes enlightening - and sometimes rather depressing - bedtime reading.

The last set of findings, delivered back in January 2009, were particularly sobering and found that 62% of 25-to-64-year-olds surveyed across 20 countries said they trusted corporations less than a year ago. The scale of the decline year-on-year was worrying. Trust in US-based business-- down from 58% to 38% over the period -- was the lowest in the Barometer's tracking history -- even lower than in the wake of Enron and the dot-com bust. Dark days indeed.

So I was particularly interested to read the findings of a new one-off interim study which looks at how trust has fared over the last six months or so, as the world has continued to experience turbulence.

The headlines:

• 49% think the UK is heading in the wrong direction
• 44% don't expect economic recovery to happen before 2011 at the earliest; 50% think it will take until 2011 or later for business to be trusted again
• Trust in business is on the way back, but it's country-specific - led by the US and France. Not so in the UK, where it is flat at 44%
• Trust in business dropped 14pts among 25-34 year olds since January 2008 - down from 56% to 42%
• Britons believe that a CEO's business decisions should consider the interests of employees, customers and communities before those of shareholders or government
• Only 11% believe that global business has a good reputation

Not surprisingly, the MPs expenses scandal has taken its toll on the Government:

• 71% don't trust Gordon Brown and 65% trust him less than six months ago
• 69% trust Government less than six months ago
• There is a strong link between trust/distrust in Government, Gordon Brown and MPs in general
• Three quarters don't trust financial institutions who have taken bail-out money to use tax-payers' money responsibly

Check out the full report and accompanying video for the detail.

Lee Smith on Aug 18 2009

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