Promoting social cohesion and convergence

Maintaining trust during the COVID-19 pandemic

Report
Published
16 November 2022
Front cover for Eurofound's publication entitled 'Maintaining trust during the COVID-19 pandemic'
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Formats and languages
Executive summary
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Author(s): 
Aassve, Arnstein; Capezzone, Tommaso; Kavadias, Dimokritos; Saeys, Mathis; Consolini, Michele; Ahrendt, Daphne

Key findings

  • During the pandemic, improvements in trust levels, in particular with national institutions, resulted in a higher rate of satisfaction with government policy responses to COVID-19, demonstrating the critical role trust plays in managing a crisis effectively. An understanding of the importance of high-trust societies and the impact of trust is crucial for tackling future crises.
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  • During the pandemic, improvements in trust levels, in particular with national institutions, resulted in a higher rate of satisfaction with government policy responses to COVID-19, demonstrating the critical role trust plays in managing a crisis effectively. An understanding of the importance of high-trust societies and the impact of trust is crucial for tackling future crises.
  • The economic concerns of citizens are crucial to building a high-trust society. A fair and inclusive recovery from the pandemic, with equal access to education and training, employment, affordable housing and social security, particularly in the context of the just transition framework where no person or region is left behind, are essential to these efforts.
  • Findings confirm that individuals with high levels of trust are most likely to participate in immunisation campaigns, highlighting that in order to respond to a health crisis effectively, societies require high-trust populations. Trust in institutions plays a strong role in this relationship.
  • During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals with low levels of trust in institutions, such as governments, science and medical institutions, were linked to low rates of vaccination uptake. Given that trust in the health system and the pharmaceutical industry is particularly pertinent in this context, it is critical that policymakers engage in clear and continuous communication about vaccines and their side-effects.
  • Findings reveal that respondents favouring social media as their main news source tended to have lower institutional trust and lower satisfaction with their governments’ measures to contain COVID-19 than those favouring traditional media. Tackling incorrect or misleading information as well as rebutting deliberately deceptive information on social media platforms must therefore be a priority for both the EU and Member States.
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Abstract

The report examines how citizens’ trust in institutions – including national governments, the EU, science and the media – evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The role of the media is analysed, in particular the relationship between the use of social media and trust and the impaRead more

The report examines how citizens’ trust in institutions – including national governments, the EU, science and the media – evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The role of the media is analysed, in particular the relationship between the use of social media and trust and the impact of misinformation (incorrect or misleading information) and disinformation (deliberately deceptive information) during the crisis period. Based on an extensive literature review, the report describes the consequences of COVID-19 policy measures, with a focus on citizens’ trust in their national institutions and in the EU. The report outlines the dynamics of trust and discontent in the context of the pandemic, including the influence of the vaccination roll-out.

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Formats and languages

  • Report

    Front cover for Eurofound's publication entitled 'Maintaining trust during the COVID-19 pandemic'
    Number of pages: 
    74
    Reference no.: 
    EF22001
    ISBN: 
    978-92-897-2291-9
    Catalogue no.: 
    TJ-03-22-045-EN-N
    DOI: 
    10.2806/707872
    Permalink: 
    eurofound.link/ef22001
    Catalogue info

    Maintaining trust during the COVID-19 pandemic

    Author(s): 
    Aassve, Arnstein; Capezzone, Tommaso; Kavadias, Dimokritos; Saeys, Mathis; Consolini, Michele; Ahrendt, Daphne
    Topics: 
    Quality of society; Promoting social cohesion and convergence; Trust; COVID-19; Inequality

    Formats

    Cite this publication: 

    Eurofound (2022), Maintaining trust during the COVID-19 pandemic, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

  • Executive summary

    Reference no.: 
    EF22001EN1
    Catalogue info

    Maintaining trust during the COVID-19 pandemic

    Author(s): 
    Eurofound

    Available for download in 1 language

    Download

  • Tables and graphs

    The report contains the following lists of tables and figures

    List of tables

    • Table 1: Definitions of digitisation technologies
    • Table 2: Overview of the digitisation case studies
    • Table 3: Most relevant sectors for technology uptake and use cases
    • Table 4: Drivers of and barriers to the adoption of digitisation technologies
    • Table 5: Overview of approaches to digitisation across the establishments investigated
    • Table 6: Areas of work organisation most impacted by the use of digitisation technologies
    • Table 7: Elements of job quality impacted by the use of digitisation technologies
    • Table 8: Specific impacts of digitisation technologies on skills and discretion

    List of figures

    • Figure 1: Analytical model for digital technologies
    • Figure 2: Adoption by enterprises of IoT and 3D printing by size and sector, EU27, 2020 (%)
    • Figure 3: Advanced technology use by enterprises (with at least 10 employees) by country, EU27, 2020 (%)
    • Figure 4: Distribution of IoT clusters in Europe, 2019
    • Figure 5: Key elements for successful technology implementation

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Part of the series

  • COVID-19

    Eurofound’s work on COVID-19 examines the far-reaching socioeconomic implications of the pandemic across Europe as they continue to impact living and working conditions. A key element of the research is the e-survey, launched in April 2020, with five rounds completed at different stages during 2020, 2021 and 2022. This is complemented by the inclusion of research into the ongoing effects of the pandemic in much of Eurofound’s other areas of work.

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