The Trust Barometer is Telling Us Nothing New (And That's The Problem)
FrequencyFebruary 12, 202600:10:23

The Trust Barometer is Telling Us Nothing New (And That's The Problem)

The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer is out, and 70% of people are now hesitant or unwilling to trust someone different from them. That stat is genuinely haunting. The recommendations? A little less so.

In this clip from Frequency, Chuck Gose and Jenni Field dig into what's actually in the report — the insular trust mindset, the workplace implications (42% would rather switch departments than report to a manager with different values), and why "promote a shared identity and culture" feels hollow when companies have spent the last few years actively dismantling the programs meant to do exactly that.

They also make the case that companies should be running trust surveys, not just engagement surveys — because disengagement is distrust, and those are two very different things to try to fix.
The full Frequency episode covers this alongside the transformation treadmill, Gartner's 2026 workplace predictions, and an open letter to PRSA.

🔗 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer: https://www.edelman.com/trust/2026/trust-barometer