NAIROBI, Kenya March 8-Joblessness and climatic change have been listed as the leading societal fears among Kenyans, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2022.
According to the survey,96 pc of Kenyans are worried about job losses while 86pc worry about climatic change.
Even so, Kenyans are the most optimistic economically, with 91 pc believing that their families will be financially better off in the next five years. This is 40 per cent higher than the global average.
The survey further showed that business leaders are increasingly expected to be involved in addressing societal issues related to their industries.
The research showed that 58pc of Kenyans surveyed expect CEOs to speak publicly about controversial social and political issues that they care about.
“There’s a fine balance, while leaders in the corporate space are expected to speak out on societal issues, they cannot become too politically involved. As our research has shown, CEOs are expected to inform policy but stay out of politics, with less than a quarter of Kenyan respondents thinking it’s appropriate,” said Corazon Sefu, Managing Director at Edelman Kenya.
59 per cent of employees surveyed said that they would choose their places of work based on the organization’s beliefs or values.
Among individual levels of trust, co-workers are the most trusted with 68pc, followed by CEOs at 67pc.
Non-Governmental Organizations and businesses have been listed as the most trusted organizations with NGOs at 73pc and businesses at 70pc.
“The two institutions are the most trusted since they set an agenda in calling for transparency, real information, and accountability,” the survey noted.
