What makes people listen to antialcohol zealots who claim a single drink can kill you? Or, on a larger stage, that ever since World War II Europe has been a leach sucking on the U.S. economy?

A stunning new study finds seven out of 10 people worldwide now say they are unwilling or hesitant to trust someone who holds different values, perspectives or sources of information. It's even worse in developed markets: Japan, 90%; Germany, 81%; Canada, 73% and the U.S., 70%.

That's according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, now in its 26th year. "We choose individual benefit over common advancement, the Me over the We," says Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, describing the results. "Distrust is the default instinct; only one-third of respondents tell us that most people can be trusted.

"Insular respondents say they would have profoundly lower trust in institutions if led by anyone different from them (-28 pts or more, compared to people with open trust mindsets). We are withdrawing from dialogue and compromise. We opt for the safety of the familiar over the perceived risk of innovation. We prefer nationalism to global connection," he says.

The study also finds good news: business ranks highest for competence and ethical behavior. It also finds people trust those near them – their CEO and neighbors are trusted by 61% of respondents worldwide. Who's not trusted? Other CEOs and journalists (48% trust factor tie) and government leaders (43%).

How a business could earn trust on a highly divisive social issue

Trust has eroded pretty much worldwide, but especially in the U.S. where there's now a 29-point trust gap between high and low earners, roughly double the worldwide gap.

A business could earn a person's trust on a highly divisive social issue by:

• Encouraging people to cooperate on finding solutions without the business taking a side (35%). This is directly contrary to what business leaders were advocating in the 2010s.
• Support the position that is true to its values (28%)
• Not take any position (13%)

When it comes to bridging divides and facilitating trust building between groups that distrust each other, "my employer" has the smallest gap, 17 pts, between expectation and performance, followed by business (26 points), NGOs, 28 points; media, 35%, and government, 42%.

In terms of business building trust between distrusting groups, 74% of respondents worldwide said bring employees into the workplace to interact with people who are different than them. I read this as an endorsement of DEI on a limited scale.

Another way to build trust between distrusting groups is to partner with unexpected organizations to initiate cross-cultural or cross-political conversations. When the bev/al industry was under attack over drunk driving, Peter Cressy, at that time the president/CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., reached out to Mothers Against Drunk Driving and developed an effective partnership in which the two worked together to promote DUI courts and ignition interlocks among others.

In the workplace, effective employer strategies to facilitate trust building between distrusting groups include:

• Promoting a shared identity and culture so that employees are reminded of what unites them rather than what divides them. (The military is particularly good at this.) (82% endorse this)
• Build teams that require people with different values to work together to succeed. (81% endorse this)
• Provide mandatory employee training for engaging in constructive dialogue amid conflict. (80% endorse this)
• Ensure CEOs consult with people with different values and backgrounds when making business decisions
• Have CEOs constructively engage with groups who criticize or distrust the company.

When institutions broker trust well, low-income people become much more trusting overall. The study saw an 18% increase in trust for business, government, media and NGOs.

How did we get here? The Trust Baronmeter identifies:

• Concerns about downward economic mobility and job losses due to globalization as increasing political polarization.
• Covid-19 bred doubt about government edicts and skepticism about science, provoking an existential battle for truth.
• Geopolitical tensions have led to nationalism, hostility to global agreements, and a reorientation of trade flows.

Last year, the Edelman Trust Barometer documented a descent into grievance, with 6 in 10 respondents saying they feel business and government actions harmed them, served the interests of only some, and that the system unfairly favors the rich. Today, the public's mindset has pulled back from alarm and anger into the hard shell of insularity.