Summary: The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals a troubling shift from polarisation to insularity. Driven by fear – of job loss, economic instability, and being left behind by AI – employees are retreating into narrower, trusted circles. Leaders and HR professionals have a critical opportunity to act as ‘trust brokers’, facilitating understanding across difference, demonstrating transparent communication, and designing systems where diverse perspectives can coexist.
For 26 years, the Edelman Trust Barometer has measured global trust levels across four key institutions: media, government, NGOs, and business. As worldwide developments unfold each year, it assesses how people’s perceptions of these major players have shifted, for better or worse.
For several years now, the barometer has warned us of increasing division within our global society. But 2026’s study, which surveyed over 33,000 respondents across 28 countries, presents a shift from polarisation to insularity.
The retreat into familiar circles
This retreat into insularity is fuelled by all the factors we would expect – the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, growing misinformation, and a struggling economy. What Edelman identified in 2023 as entrenched divisions became grievance against a rigged system by 2025. And now, as outrage turns to despondency, we’re seeing a growing reluctance to trust those who are ‘not like us’.
Across the globe, 61% do not expose themselves to information sources with differing political views (a 6% increase since 2025). And 70% hold what Edelman calls an ‘insular-trust mindset’. This essentially means we are ‘unwilling or hesitant’ to trust someone different from us. Someone who, for example, comes from an unfamiliar background to our own, or who has different core values, political leanings, or lifestyle behaviours.
Among the 95% who say recent societal events have affected their trust levels, confidence in shared institutions (such as government and media) has declined.
When fear becomes the driver
What’s driving this distrust? It all comes down to the core human emotion of fear, says Dr Poornima Luthra, a globally recognised expert on workplace inclusion. “In polarised times, we fear change, getting it wrong, discomfort, and potential negative consequences.”
Job security is just one example of where fear is growing: 66% of employees worry that trade and tariff conflict will harm their employer (up by 8% since 2019). And more people (66%) fear losing their job due to a recession now than they did during the pandemic in 2020 (61%).
When it comes to AI’s impact on work, over half of lower earners (54%) worry they’ll be left behind, compared with a third of higher earners.
“In such an environment of fear, we trust people who are similar to us – people with similar values, backgrounds, and life experiences,” says Luthra. “Doing so feels safer and more comfortable.”
Trust finds a home in local circles
With trust declining across shared institutions, people are turning to their local circles for that comfort Luthra points to. Individuals now hold greater trust in their family, friends, and coworkers. And whilst CEOs are, generally speaking, distrusted, 61% of ‘insular’ employees trust their own organisation’s CEO, which is equivalent to the proportion who trust their neighbours. Edelman describes this as a move from ‘we’ to ‘me’.
At first glance, employers may view this as positive news for their organisations – especially given that business has been the most trusted institution in the world since 2021.
But employees with an insular-trust mindset harm business productivity, even when they trust their CEO.
Over two in five (42%) would rather switch departments than report to a manager with different values. And 34% would put less effort into a project if the team leader had differing political beliefs.
Edelman recommends ‘trust brokering‘ as the most powerful action for business to earn trust in high-stakes moments
An inability to sit in discomfort
This desire to not only withdraw from, but take proactive steps to avoid, colleagues and managers we don’t align with is deeply concerning. As Blaire Palmer, CEO of That People Thing, points out: “Insularity is bad for meaningful discussion about gritty problems and innovative solutions, which require sitting with the discomfort of diverse ideas and perspectives.”
In a fast-moving business climate, where complex problem-solving and creativity are essential to adaptation, a regression into deeper siloes will hold organisations back.
“We need to build our resilience to discomfort,” Palmer adds. “Not only does that benefit the business but, on a personal level, it makes us more capable of living well and engaging with others in an unpredictable and divided world.”
How leaders can become trust brokers
Given that businesses are the most trusted institutions – and CEOs the most trusted individuals among their own employees – leaders have both opportunity and responsibility to address this growing insularity.
Edelman recommends ‘trust brokering‘ as the “most powerful action for business to earn trust in high-stakes moments”. It involves a ‘trust broker’ facilitating trust in places of difference.
This practice isn’t an attempt to change people. Rather, it helps uncover commonalities among insular groups and translates varying experiences and needs to support mutual understanding.
If insularity spreads across the workplace, the repercussions on team performance, productivity, and culture will be profound.
As part of this approach, CEOs should consult people with different values and backgrounds when making business decisions. As Palmer recommends: “Leaders themselves need to invite challenge of their own ideas and demonstrate a willingness to listen and change their mind. And then they need to ‘broker’ those kinds of conversations in their business.”
Alongside this facilitative approach, there is also a greater need for open, transparent communication from our leaders. Bruce Daisley, podcast host of Eat Sleep Work Repeat, highlights that with optimism in short supply, employees will be astutely aware of any behaviours or actions that seem performative. “Leaders should focus on delivering on what they promise and speaking candidly without deflection,” Daisley says. “Less spin, less sell, more honesty about uncertainty. Our colleagues are watching for proof, not promises.”
Where HR fits into the trust equation
HR professionals are also well-positioned to build trust among insular cohorts and cultivate more cohesive, inclusive workplace cultures.
However, Perry Timms, CEO of People and Transformational HR, notes this may feel like new ground for the profession. “This places HR in an unfamiliar but critical role,” he says. “The task is no longer to drive alignment or sameness, but to design systems where difference can coexist without conflict. This demands a shift in the People Profession towards more adaptive, skills-based work, fluid and socially cohesive teams, safe spaces, and operating models that prioritise cooperation over consensus.”
An opportunity we can’t afford to miss
CEOs and organisations may see their position of high trust as cause for celebration. But it’s better understood as an opportunity – one that other institutions don’t have – to halt the insularity trend before it takes deeper root.
If insularity spreads across the workplace, the repercussions on team performance, productivity, and culture will be profound. The question isn’t whether leaders should act – it’s whether they’ll act in time.
Key takeaways:
- Trust is becoming dangerously insular. 70% of people are unwilling to trust those different from them.
- Local trust is rising whilst institutional trust falls. People trust family, friends, coworkers, and their own CEO more than shared institutions like government and media.
- Insularity harms productivity. 42% of employees would rather switch departments than report to a manager with different values, and 34% would reduce effort on projects led by someone with differing political beliefs.
- Leaders must act as trust brokers. CEOs should consult people with different backgrounds when making decisions, demonstrate willingness to change their minds, and communicate with transparency rather than spin.
- HR has a critical role to play. The profession must shift from driving alignment to designing systems where difference can coexist, prioritising cooperation over consensus.
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