Canada (EN)
For 16 years, Alight's Employee Mindset Study has helped employers understand what employees need to be successful at work and in life. The findings reveal how employees are feeling, where they're struggling and what they need most from their employers.
This year marks an important milestone.
For the first time, we surveyed employees in Canada. This gives us a broader view across North America and a clearer sense of what employees expect from employers during life’s most important moments.
While some country-specific differences emerged, one theme stood out consistently across both studies:
Employees crave support, particularly in the moments that matter. Whether they're making healthcare decisions, navigating a leave of absence, managing financial pressures or improving their wellbeing, throwing more programs, benefits or resources at them isn't necessarily the answer. They want help navigating the benefits ecosystem to find the right support at the right time for the right cost.
Employees are feeling okay. Few are truly thriving.
The encouraging news is that overall wellbeing improved among U.S. employees this year, reaching 51%, up four percentage points from 2025. But the broader story is more complicated. Nearly half of U.S. employees worry their money and savings won't last, and healthcare decision regret continues to rise.
Across Canada, the picture is even more concerning. In our inaugural Canadian study, only 40% of employees rated their overall wellbeing positively, and financial wellbeing emerged as the lowest-rated dimension of wellbeing. High stress levels, financial pressure and concerns about the future continue to weigh heavily on employees.
Employees from both countries told a similar story. They are managing increasingly complex decisions related to healthcare, financial security, leave, careers and wellbeing. Workers value the support available to them, but they often struggle to find it, understand it or know what to do next.
Employees need guidance, not more complexity
Whether they're selecting benefits, trying to understand a medical bill, navigating a leave of absence, managing debt, caring for a family member or facing a major life event, employees consistently say they want clearer guidance, better communication and easier access to assistance.
In the U.S., healthcare complexity continues to create frustration and uncertainty. More than two-thirds of employees regretted a healthcare decision they made during the past year, while many delayed care due to costs, confusion or uncertainty about what to do next.
Canada presents a different but equally complex challenge. Employees are often navigating both publicly funded healthcare and employer-sponsored benefits, creating uncertainty about where coverage begins, where it ends and how to access the right support.
In both countries, employees repeatedly point to the same need: make support easier to find, easier to understand and easier to use.
Employees need clearer support when life interrupts work
Taking a leave of absence is one of the most important and often most stressful events an employee will navigate during their career. Whether the reason is caregiving, a medical condition, mental health, the arrival of a new child or something else, employees consistently told us they want greater clarity, confidence and support throughout the process.
In both the U.S. and Canada, many employees reported not taking a leave they needed. Career concerns, process complexity and uncertainty about what support is available continue to create barriers. Even employees who value leave benefits often struggle to understand how the process works, where to find information and how leave programs connect to the rest of their benefits.
This creates an important opportunity for employers. Employees don't experience leaves as a standalone process. They experience it as part of a broader life event that may include healthcare, financial decisions, caregiving responsibilities and wellbeing needs. A more connected, guided experience can help employees navigate these moments with greater confidence and strengthen trust in their employer.
Financial wellbeing remains a defining issue
Financial pressure continues to influence nearly every aspect of the employee experience.
In the U.S., many employees report feeling they are simply getting by financially, and financial wellbeing remains the lowest-rated dimension of wellbeing. The effects extend far beyond personal finances. Employees with stronger financial wellbeing are more productive, less stressed and less likely to be looking for another job.
Canadian employees face many of the same challenges. Just one-third rate their financial wellbeing positively, and personal finances remain their leading source of stress.
These findings reinforce an important reality for employers: financial wellbeing is not solely a personal issue. It affects productivity, engagement, retention and overall workforce wellbeing.
Employees are open to more personalized, technology-enabled support
Another notable finding from this year's research is employees' growing comfort with AI and digital guidance.
In both the U.S. and Canada, employees reported positive experiences using AI to help make benefits-related decisions. They are also increasingly interested in more personalized communication tailored to their needs, life stages and priorities.
The opportunity for employers is not to replace human support with technology. It's to combine the best of both.
Employees want intuitive digital experiences, personalized recommendations and trusted human expertise working together to help them make decisions with greater confidence.
What employers should take away from this year's findings
The primary lesson from this year's research is surprisingly simple.
Employees do not necessarily need more benefits, more programs or more resources.
They need support that helps them navigate the moments that matter.
They need help understanding healthcare choices. They need guidance when financial pressures arise. They need confidence when taking a leave of absence. They need support as they build skills, manage stress and improve their wellbeing. And they need communication that is relevant, personalized and actionable.
The organizations that succeed will create a simpler, more connected experience across health, wealth, leave, wellbeing and career support. They'll use technology without losing the human element. They'll focus less on adding programs and more on helping employees leverage the resources already available to them.
That's the opportunity highlighted in our 2026 Employee Mindset Study: help employees navigate the moments that matter. When employees receive the right support at the right time, the results are meaningful for everyone. Employees make better decisions, feel more confident and improve their overall wellbeing. Employers strengthen engagement, productivity, trust and retention while realizing greater value from their benefits investments.
Dive deeper into the findings
The 2026 Employee Mindset Study reinforces a simple but important reality: employees want support that helps them navigate life's most important moments. To explore the complete findings, country-specific insights and recommendations for employers, access the full reports:
Whether you're evaluating your benefits strategy, looking to improve employee engagement or exploring new ways to support your workforce, these findings can help you identify where employees need more guidance, where existing investments may be falling short and what actions will create the greatest impact.
Read the full reports, challenge your assumptions about what employees need and identify where you can simplify, personalize and strengthen support across the moments that matter most.
