The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals that despite a strong global economy and near full employment, none of the four societal institutions that the study measures - government, business, NGOs and media - is trusted. The cause of this paradox can be found in people's fears about the future and their role in it, which are a wake-up call for our institutions to embrace a new way of effectively building trust: balancing competence with ethical behaviour. 
The research highlights that business must take the lead on solving the trust paradox. Its immediate mandates are clear: an overwhelming number of respondents believing that it has a duty to pay decent wages (83%) and provide retraining for workers whose jobs are threatened by automation (79%). However, less than a third of people trust that business will do these.