Trust is key to building a fairer society

Author: Dr. Wendy M. Purcell PhD FRSA, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University
Goal advisor for a fairer society, and Series Editor for Emerald's 17-book series 'Higher Education and the Sustainable Development Goals'

The Edelman Trust Barometer [i] has monitored trust for more than 20 years, holding it to be "the ultimate currency in the relationship that all institutions – business, governments, NGOs and media – build with their stakeholders." However, at a time when we need to develop and sustain trustful relationships at a global level to tackle common world problems, like climate change or the recent pandemic, levels of trust appear to be at an all-time low.

Whether it is leaving office as election outcomes dictate, upholding standards in public life, or simply telling the truth, trust in governments has plummeted. The 2022 barometer results showed only four in ten people think governments can deliver on the grand challenges of our day, trusting them less than business or NGOs by a significant margin. Media too is battling trust issues, from 'fake news', echo chambers fueled by algorithms, and perceptions of bias in partisan reporting. In contrast, trust in business appears to be rising – whether this is simply an outcome of trust falling elsewhere is not clear.

People now expect more from business and for it to play a greater role in tackling the societal issues ably represented by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [ii]. We saw this most recently in the 'Great Resignation' [iii] as people sought out employers that better reflected their values and sense of purpose. Many businesses are looking to sustain these higher levels of trust. For example, we see CEO's embracing activism on important global problems, brands aligning with sustainability, and efforts to tackle slave labour, pollution, and waste. But there is a lot of work to do still as we saw from recent scandals involving car emissions, pain killer drugs, banks, and baby food to name just a few.

Trust building is foundational to relationship making and to sustaining relationships. Most people will have heard of trust game experiments [iv], routinely conducted in psychology and economics studies. Typically, one person is given a small cash sum with the option of keeping it all or sharing it with a stranger on the basis that the sum will increase materially with the recipient then asked to choose to divide it with the donor or keep it all; most people trust the stranger to share fairly, with just one in four keeping the original stake.

Trust is a crucial element of leadership [v]; you cannot lead people if they do not trust you. Trust and fairness are widely assumed to be closely related, with fair treatment of a person or group by an official or institution leading to a relationship of trust, which in turn leads to cooperation [vi]. Authenticity, empathy, and logic are key drivers of trust [vii] and leaders who create and sustain conditions of trust can secure the unique contributions of a diverse team. Employees are acutely aware when leaders say one thing and yet do another – so leaders need to 'mind the gap', especially in relation to organisational values and tackling bias. Research showed [viii] that those who reported experiencing workplace bias withheld their ideas and solutions, a major business loss as we collectively face problems demanding innovation. While workplace bias training has been rolled into different organisations, there is still a long way to go.

With Agenda 2030 [ix] and climate targets to 2050, there is an urgent need to develop a new social compact based on trust – trust that people we elect or do business with do what they say they will do and do so ethically. We need to restore the trust parents had that the next generation would experience a better life than they had, and that everyone deserves the opportunity to lead a good life. And, we have some of the ingredients to help make this happen. We are more connected to one another than ever before, with social media platforms and digital access widely available so we can communicate easily and share information widely. We have global accords, like the SDGs and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [x], various global economic fora and groups, and a shared consciousness we need to act together. We also have the recent experience of the COVID-19 pandemic that showed us that when we gather collectively around a shared problem, we can tackle a common enemy and save lives.

We are rightly anxious about the future and the lack of equity demanded by a fairer society and that anxiety is exacerbated by distrust. There is a cost to losing trust, whether that is a failure to act or a reluctance to collaborate. We, therefore, need to invest in creating trustful relationships with those that govern us, trade with us, and seek to inform us. Trust building is an essential activity to help create a world that leaves no one behind, with trust being an essential asset of fairness.

 

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References

[i] https://www.edelman.com/trust/2022-trust-barometer

[ii] https://sdgs.un.org/goals

[iii] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/06/the-great-resignation-is-not-over/

[iv] https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/05/psychology-study-explains-why-strangers-trust

[v] https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/S1534-0856(2010)0000013008/full/html

[vi] https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0021-9010.92.3.639

[vii] https://store.hbr.org/product/begin-with-trust/R2003H

[viii] http://impactgrouphr.com/businesspost/unconscious-bias-at-work/

[ix] https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda

[x] https://www.ipcc.ch/

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