The pandemic has been a make-or-break moment for institutional trust. Among the young leaders surveyed for this year’s Voices of the Leaders of Tomorrow Report, governments and journalists have lost, while scientists and doctors gained trust in light of COVID-19.

With a bang, the COVID-19 pandemic bluntly revealed the vulnerabilities of our globalized world. Governments and private institutions, organizations and people in all countries had to start an ongoing fight against the virus and its spread across the globe at lightning speed. Trust plays a crucial role in this fight: Trust in published facts and science as well as trust in the competence and goodwill of lawmakers and those in power. Recent studies have shown that, in general, greater trust in governments and public institutions leads to a higher level of compliance with guidelines to contain the spread of the virus (Bargain & Aminjonov, 2020; Pak, McBryde & Adegboye, 2021).

At the same time, in many countries parts of the population refused to follow the newly imposed rules and loudly expressed their doubts in the goodwill and competence of politicians and scientists. Some groups even questioned the existence of a pandemic. Conspiracy theories spread like wildfire, forcing health officials to not only fight the virus but to additionally contain harm from misinformation, leading the WHO (2020) to declare an “infodemic” alongside the pandemic itself. Both traditional and social media gave megaphones to self-declared “experts” with provocative and polarizing statements, often drowning out more balanced voices.

On the other hand, the pandemic has put scientists and health experts in particular in the spotlight.  Often, politicians rely on them in their decision-making regarding preventive measures, so their work suddenly affects the lives of everyone. In response, some people seem to experience a sort of “shoot the messenger” impulse, and frontline scientists report being exposed to hate speech and even death threats. In the USA, chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci had to increase security for himself and his family very early in the pandemic (Bennett & Perez, 2020) and still needs protection to this day.  Sweden just recently announced greater protections for scientists after one prominent COVID-19 researcher quit over social media attacks (Torjesen, 2021) – just to mention two prominent examples.  We investigated how the Leaders of Tomorrow’s level of trust for these and other professions and institutions was affected by the pandemic.

Major Changes in Trust in Various Actors

Whether or not to trust the various parties involved has become a question that people discuss and reflect upon every day. The perceptions have changed with the experiences throughout the challenging situation in which we find ourselves. The Leaders of Tomorrow surveyed for this year’s Voices of the Leaders of Tomorrow Report – a collaboration of the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) and the St. Gallen Symposium – are no exception here. For them, too, the experience of the pandemic has left its mark – in both positive and negative ways. The pandemic has undoubtedly caused great damage to people, society and the economy. But some actors in society have gained trust. According to the Leaders of Tomorrow survey, there are three explicit winners and four losers: Governments, social media, journalists and the press, as well as fellow citizens, lost trust.

A particular danger here: A lack of trust in the press – and perhaps even in the basic facts of a shared reality – is leading to a fracturing of societies, which can take on characteristics of fanatical, quasi-religious battles, including dogma and claims of heresy or gullibility from opposing sides. On average, the reputation of companies remained the same, while NGOs slightly gained trust. The real trust winners, however, according to the Leaders of Tomorrow (and perhaps not only them), are scientists and medical professionals. Both have had to shoulder great burdens in recent months, and this is apparently seen and acknowledged.

The biggest trust winners – remote working technologies – are not quite comparable with the other actors, as they are a means rather than an actor in their own right: It is technology that has made working, meeting and learning at a distance possible during these difficult times. COVID-19 has therefore given this technology a “confidence boost,” even if its use may not have been immediately desired and welcomed by everyone. The positive experience will almost certainly have a long-term, practical impact.

What else will remain from the pandemic and affect our trust in various entities in the future? Respondents could share their views on this in an open-ended question.Image

Many learned that transparent and honest communication including admission of mistakes is vital for trust. For example, one respondent noted: “Making mistakes in public decision-making during uncertain times is human, but it will only be accepted by others if you are willing to be transparent about it, take responsibility, and set out an action plan for change. Key learning for trust has been the importance of transparency and clear communication. Institutions that gave out prompt and true information would garner trust and credibility over time.” Another Leader of Tomorrow emphasized the importance of trust in science: “Science has the power to rapidly change the lives of all. Trust in science is imperative to foster its ability to bring solutions to the world‘s biggest problems.”

Read the full Voices of the Leaders of Tomorrow Report here for all findings and detailed analysis.