Two decades of eroding trust – and why business can no longer afford to ignore it
The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals a structural trust deficit in Germany that has been building for years. In this environment, companies must treat trust as a core performance factor, not a communications afterthought.
By Stefanie Henn
Trust did not disappear in a single crisis. It eroded quietly and incrementally, over more than twenty years. And now it has reached a point where companies in Germany can no longer treat it as a secondary issue. Trust – or the lack of it – shapes investor confidence, employee engagement and ultimately long-term value creation. What once felt like a shared reality has eroded and has been replaced by parallel perceptions of truth.
How we got here: a gradual breakdown
For 26 years, the Edelman Trust Barometer has tracked trust in business, government, media and NGOs through an annual survey of more than 33,000 respondents across 28 countries, including Germany. This long-term dataset shows not just annual fluctuations, but structural shifts in how societies view institutions and how expectations toward business have evolved over time. Looking back over the past two decades, the pattern is clear: trust shifted away from traditional authorities and toward peers, employers and personal networks. A gap opened between higher-income and lower-income groups. Polarization intensified. A sense of grievance grew. Each stage weakened confidence in institutions.
Today, we are in a new phase: insularity. People increasingly trust only those who resemble them in values, beliefs and background. In Germany, 81% exhibit this insular mindset. This is not a temporary mood swing, but the cumulative outcome of years in which disappointment with institutions, including business, steadily grew.
Germany’s structural trust deficit
Trust in developing economies continues to gain but it is stagnating in developed markets. Germany’s Trust Index is particularly low, standing at 44 points, below the global average. While this doesn’t mean that the country is in open revolt against business, it does mean that confidence has thinned. Companies operate in an environment of structural skepticism, not temporary reputational risk. In stark contrast to the distrust in business, people overwhelmingly trust their own employer (74%), giving trust a local and personal angle.
For those responsible for financial reporting, ESG disclosure and governance oversight, this is a problem: trust deficits will increasingly affect cost of capital, investor scrutiny and long-term valuation narratives as investors are likely to scrutinize more intensely and stakeholders will demand more explanation and more alignment between words and actions. Credibility must be earned repeatedly.
A society turning inward
The 2026 Trust Barometer shows that optimism is fading amongst Germans: fewer than one in ten believe the next generation will be better off, while nearly half of them consider societal division a crisis- level problem. As a result, trust retreats to what feels near: domestic companies are favored over foreign ones. Global strategies are judged through a local lens. For multinational companies, this means that trust must be built locally.
Overall, this reflects a broader retreat into insularity driven by economic anxiety, geopolitical tension and misinformation. The widening income- based trust gap deepens this dynamic. Among low-income Germans, no institution is seen as both competent and ethical. 59% fear being left behind by generative AI, compared to 40% of high-income respondents. Even inside organizations, division becomes tangible. 32% say they would reduce effort for a project leader with opposing political beliefs, meaning trust gaps translate directly into productivity risks.
Trust requires active trust-brokering
In such an environment, retreat is tempting: communicate less, avoid controversy, stay neutral. But neutrality is not a strategy when skepticism is structural. The data shows that when faced with divisive issues, Germans most trust companies that encourage cooperation and solutions rather than ideological positioning. Stakeholders do not expect companies to solve politics. They expect them to show responsibility, consistency and fairness.
Trust does not rebuild itself. It requires active trust-brokering: creating spaces for dialogue rather than deepening fault lines, acknowledging differing perspectives instead of dismissing them and communicating with clarity rather than defensiveness. Companies are not expected to solve societal polarization, but they are expected to model constructive engagement.
Communication, in this context, is not about positioning. It is about translation. In a fragmented public sphere, trust grows where companies demonstrate openness, consistency and the willingness to engage, especially with those who disagree.
After two decades of erosion, trust has hardened into a decisive factor. It influences cost of capital, the regulatory climate as well as the societal license to operate. Now more than ever, building trust with stakeholders is a strategic necessity.
Key Takeaways
Trust has eroded: the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer shows Germany has lost trust in business, government, media and NGOs.
Insularity is rising: 81% of Germans show an insular mindset, meaning trust is increasingly local and personal.
Trust gaps carry economic risk: income divides and polarization can affect productivity, investor scrutiny and cost of capital.
Local matters most: domestic companies are favored; global strategies are judged through a local lens.
Leaders must build trust actively: companies that foster cooperation and communicate transparently strengthen their license to operate.
Further information/sources
Edelman Trust Barometer 2026 – Germany report (in German)
www.edelman.com/de/de/trust/2026/trust-barometer
Edelman Trust Barometer 2026 – global data (in English)
Stefanie Henn
heads the Sustainability & ESG team at Edelman Germany and advises national and international clients on sustainability communications, ESG reporting, change communications, CEO positioning and media relations.