Nearly two-thirds of employees across Australia and New Zealand are financially unwell, with one in three now holding a second job to cope with living costs, according to Gallagher's 2026 Workforce Trends Report: Workplace Wellbeing Index.
The report, now in its fifth year and expanded for the first time to include New Zealand data, surveyed more than 3,500 respondents across industries, seniority levels, tenure, age and gender. It found 63% of employees are financially unwell, 32% are working while unwell because they cannot afford time off, and 37% say financial stress is disrupting their sleep.
Gallagher's data points to a growing "side hustle economy," with a third of employees relying on a secondary income and nearly half of that group using it to manage cost-of-living pressures or debt. The report links multiple income streams to reduced focus, increased fatigue and lower problem-solving capacity during primary working hours. Gallagher estimates the productivity leak associated with financial stress at $335,340, while identifying side hustles as another potential business risk.
More than a quarter of employees are also experiencing burnout, which the report describes as a "lagging indicator" – often only visible once it shows up in unplanned leave, workers' compensation claims or resignations. Gallagher estimates replacing an employee can cost between 50% and more than 200% of their salary, and that psychological injury claims can run up to five times longer and more expensive than other claims types.
That burnout trend lines up with separate data from Allianz Australia, whose research recorded a 17.3% year-on-year rise in primary psychological workers' compensation claims between the 2024 and 2025 calendar years, alongside billions in planned corporate spending on wellbeing programs that many employees say has not translated into visible support.
For the second year running, Gallagher has segmented respondents into three personas based on their financial position: Strugglers (31%), who report high stress and low awareness of available support; Survivors (36%), managing competing pressures and at risk of burnout; and Thrivers (33%), who are financially stable and more engaged at work.
This persona framework builds on Gallagher's 2025 Workforce Trends Report, which recorded burnout in more than a quarter of employees and found frontline leaders were disproportionately represented among Strugglers compared with senior leadership. At the time, Dr James Allen, Gallagher's director of people experience and innovation, said organisations could no longer overlook this cohort, warning that businesses risked facing "the unenviable task of replacing such an integral part of their business" if frontline concerns continued to be ignored.
The report argues that most workplace benefit programs are built around a single, generic employee experience, despite two-thirds of the workforce reporting meaningful financial strain. It notes that even where benefits such as group insurance, employee assistance programs and superannuation contributions exist, their effectiveness varies depending on which of the three groups an employee falls into.
Employees consistently rank financial wellbeing alongside mental health as the biggest driver of their overall wellbeing, the report states, yet satisfaction with financial support remains the lowest-rated area among those surveyed. Gallagher frames this as a gap between what employees say they need and what most employers currently measure or act on.
The findings add to a wider pattern flagged elsewhere in the sector this year, including Allianz Australia's own burnout research, which found roughly 80% of employees doubted their employer had effective policies to prevent burnout despite growing investment in wellbeing initiatives.
