Which is the World’s Most Trusted Profession?
Deborah Swallow | June 6th, 2011 in : about cross-culture, cross-cultural differences, General, international business, social practices, working internationally
A recent survey concerning TRUST had 17 countries unanimously
agreeing that one profession in particular was THE one to be trusted above all others. If these 17,295 respondents are any indication of how the rest of the world feels then the likelihood is that FIREFIGHTERS are the most trustworthy group in the whole world. However, levels of trust in bankers have fallen considerably – down to a mere 37% compared with 98% for firefighters.
The GfK Trust Index for Spring 2011 determines the level of trust that citizens have in 20 professional groups and organisations (see below for more details). Of course, there are many interesting differences between the nations with Civil Servants having a vastly different reputation depending on the country in question: just under 80% of Swiss citizens believe this profession to be trustworthy, only one in four in Greece gave a similar response.
So, who has our least degree of trust?
As in previous years, politicians bring up the rear in terms of trust levels with only 18%, even dropping as low as 15% in Western Europe. The image of politicians is particularly poor in Greece (6%), Hungary (8%), France (10%) and Italy (also 10%). In the USA, political leaders form the least-trusted group; however, at 21%, the percentage of citizens who do perceive them as trustworthy is still significantly higher than in Western Europe.
Although there are differences between each participating nation, generally it can be said that teachers are ranked in second place, with 85%, and postal workers, doctors and the armed forces come in third, each with 81%. More than half of all respondents place their trust in the clergy, environmental protection organisations, the police, charitable organisations, judges, civil servants and market researchers, although there are significant differences between the different countries: the church has a particularly good reputation in Romania, Poland and Germany, with three quarters of those surveyed believing it to be trustworthy, whereas Greek and French citizens trust it the least, at 26% and 36% respectively.
There is also a mixed picture concerning the police: around three quarters of people in Western Europe have confidence in police officers (with the exception of Greece, 40%). However, this professional group is seen as trustworthy by only half of all those surveyed in Eastern Europe, and only by around one third of those in Russia.
Cultural differnces run so much deeper than socail ettiquette!
About the survey: undertaken by GfK Custom Research. 20 professional groups and organizations: doctors, bank employees, civil servants, the fire service, trade union representatives, journalists, the clergy, teachers, marketing experts, market researchers, the armed forces, the police, politicians, postal workers, lawyers, judges, top managers, environmental protection organizations, advertising experts and charities. For this year’s Trust Index, GfK Custom Research surveyed a total of 17,295 respondents in 16 European countries and the USA in February and March 2011
Tags: clergy, cultural difference, cultural diversity, degree of trust, firefighters, level of trust, national differences, police, political leaders, politicians, reputation, trust, trust index, trustworthy, trustworthy group
Hello, I'm Deborah Swallow and, for the last fifteen years, I've worked in over thirty countries addressing the complexities of people working internationally across multiple cultures, so individuals and organisations alike can gain an authentic competitive edge and win in international markets. 