Richard Edelman on Edelman's Trust at Work 2026: Indian employees most worried about being monitored at work

In his latest blog, Edelman's CEO says the trust employers built up during the pandemic is now under threat. Constant change at work is to blame, and India leads on fears of workplace surveillance.

Trust in employer's under threat: Edelman's Trust at Work 2026 study 

Employers' standing as the most trusted part of employees' lives is under threat, according to Richard Edelman. He was writing about the findings of Edelman's Trust at Work 2026 study, which surveyed more than 10,000 employees across ten markets.

"My employer became the linchpin of trust during the Covid-19 pandemic; this elevated position is now under threat," Edelman wrote. He added that the study "finds many employees destabilized by change, with trust in leaders, acceptance of innovation, and commitment to the employer all at risk."

The study records the first statistically significant year-on-year fall in trust in "my employer" since August 2024, with China down 11 points and Germany down 5. Trust in CEOs fell from 70% to 66%, in direct managers from 79% to 72%, and in co-workers from 82% to 73%. Each is a record low in the data series.

Change everywhere, India included

Three in four employees (76%) have been through at least one workplace transformation in the past year. That includes more than 90% of executives, 86% of mid-level managers and 61% of associates. AI implementation (53%) and strategy shifts (47%) were the most common changes. Change is more intense in developing markets. Most employees in India and the UAE, and more than 40% in Brazil, South Africa and China, reported three or more company-wide changes in the past year.

Richard Edelman says change must be "presented as an opportunity for productivity and wellbeing, not a disruption or AI revolution."

Not everyone is being brought along

One in three employees said their experience of change was not positive. The figures were highest in Germany (47%), Canada (44%), Japan (44%) and the UK (37%). Associates (49%) were about three times as likely as executives (17%) to say so.

When change goes badly, the cost is steep. Trust in the CEO falls 33 points (82% to 49%), trust in managers falls 25 points (85% to 60%), and willingness to embrace more AI drops from 40% to 18%. When change goes well, employees are far more likely to go above and beyond (83% vs 57%) and to commit to a long-term career with their employer (83% vs 51%).

"Transformation can divide or unite an organization," Edelman wrote.

India tops surveillance fears

Six in ten employees fear their employer monitors them without consent. In India the figure is 80%, the highest in the study, ahead of the UAE (74%) and South Africa (71%). Executives (71%) are more worried about this than associates (50%).

Other findings: Edelman's Trust at Work 2026

• Three in four workers fear losing their jobs because of tariffs, automation, offshoring or a lack of training.
• There is a gap of more than 21 points between what employees expect on pay and internal mobility and what employers deliver.
• Since 2022, comfort discussing disagreements at work has fallen 9 points to 56% on discrimination and 6 points to 65% on climate change.

The stakes for business

"Business has been on a great run as the most trusted institution. But transformation is the hinge point, the litmus test," Edelman wrote. "If transformation goes poorly, it will go back to all the bad things once assumed about business — profits over people, employees are just numbers, and the like."

He called it "the central business leadership challenge of our moment," adding: "To succeed, truth well told, commitment to reskilling, employee agency and empathetic leadership must be the game plan."

Edelman’s latest Trust at Work study, surveyed over 10,000 employees across ten markets.