The cost of living is the leading source of financial stress for Canadian workers, with one in five employees saying financial worries are hurting their productivity at work, according to a new TELUS Health report.
The second-quarter 2026 TELUS Mental Health Index also found that 60 per cent of Canadian workers who contribute to a workplace retirement or savings plan do not fully understand how it works, while 63 per cent want more employer-provided resources, communications or support related to retirement, pensions or savings plans.
The findings highlight the connection between financial wellbeing and workplace performance, with younger workers, parents and employees providing financial support or caregiving facing higher reported impacts from financial stress.
Among Canadian workers, 63 per cent identified the cost of living as their primary financial stressor, compared with 12 per cent who cited retirement savings and eight per cent who pointed to emergency savings.
People are worried or anxious about their finances
Thirty-five per cent of workers said they feel worried or anxious about their finances, while nearly one in eight said they never stop worrying about money.
Twenty per cent of workers reported that financial stress has directly hurt their productivity at work, and five per cent said they had missed work entirely because of financial anxiety.
Workers without emergency savings also reported lower mental health scores. Twenty-eight per cent of Canadian employees said they lacked emergency savings to cover basic needs. Those workers recorded an average Mental Health Index score of 49.1, compared with 69.7 among workers who had emergency savings, and were nearly three times more likely to report that financial stress had impaired their workplace productivity.
The report also found a significant gap in employees' understanding of workplace savings and retirement programs.
Sixty per cent of workers contributing to such programs said they do not fully understand how they work. Those who reported having no understanding of their pension or retirement plan scored 19.3 points lower on the Mental Health Index than those who understood their plans well.
Paula Allen, global leader of research and insights at TELUS Health, said employers have an opportunity to provide more support around financial wellbeing.
“We have a strong opportunity to support each generation with the unique challenges they face every day, outside and within the workplace,” said Allen. “When 60 per cent of employees contributing to a workplace pension or retirement plan do not fully understand how it works, employers lose the return on investment of their total rewards spend. By offering accessible financial literacy resources and direct financial coaching, organizations can relieve financial anxiety, lower absenteeism, and improve workforce engagement.”
The report found 63 per cent of employees want employer-provided resources or support for retirement, pensions or savings plans, making it the most requested category of financial assistance in the study. Other areas of interest included investing, cited by 21 per cent; tax planning, 18 per cent; emergency savings, 16 per cent; and debt-management coaching, 15 per cent.
Financial pressures were reported as particularly significant among younger workers, parents and caregivers.
Workers under 40 were three and a half times more likely than those over 50 to report that financial stress negatively affects their workplace productivity. Parents were 80 per cent more likely to report productivity losses related to financial strain than their counterparts.
Financial support and caregiving to adult children
Twenty-seven per cent of Canada's workforce provides financial support or caregiving to adult children or aging parents. Of those workers, 37 per cent reported a negative impact on their finances, 32 per cent reported an impact on their mental health and 15 per cent reported an impact on workplace productivity.
The report also examined workplace mental health disclosure. Only 49 per cent of workers said they feel comfortable telling their manager if they have a mental health issue, while 27 per cent said they would not feel comfortable and 24 per cent were unsure.
Among workers affected by substance use, the most commonly reported barriers to seeking treatment included stigma or embarrassment, cited by 27 per cent, followed by cost or financial barriers at 23 per cent, confidentiality concerns at 22 per cent and fear of having to tell someone at work at 21 per cent.
The overall TELUS Mental Health Index score for Canadian workers was 63.9, up by nearly one point from the first quarter of 2026. Thirty-three per cent of workers were classified as having a high mental health risk, 45 per cent as moderate risk and 22 per cent as low risk.
The Index data was collected through an online survey conducted between June 5 and June 18, 2026, among 3,000 employed adults in Canada who had been employed within the previous six months. The sample was selected to reflect the age, gender, industry and geographic distribution of the Canadian working population.