• Performance Under Pressure: 79 percent of Gen Z workers aged 18-29 say stress affects or distracts them at work with life stressors often or sometimes impacting their ability to maintain focus or concentration (66 percent), their motivation (69 percent), and their ability to make decisions or solve problems (61 percent), all of which ranked highest among all age groups surveyed. 
  • Among 18- to 29-year-olds, top health concerns include exercise habits (24 percent), eating habits (23 percent), and sleep habits (20 percent)—all of which they cite as workplace distractions.
  • Gen Z survey respondents also cite financial stress as a top reported workplace distraction, and 43 percent would use employer-provided financial wellness support programs if provided.
• Inverse Age-Stress Correlation: Stress levels are inversely correlated with age, with youngest workers reporting highest stress across financial, emotional, and health domains.
• Eroding Support Networks: 47 percent of adults aged 18-59 have two or fewer people to turn to for help; nearly one in 10 workers aged 18-44 have no one.
• Benefits Gap: Older workers (60+) report relative satisfaction with employer support, while younger workers are seeking greater support across all categories measured.
• Gender and Education Divides: Women and lower-educated workers report higher emotional stress and lower support satisfaction.

The findings arrive as employers grapple with rising turnover, declining engagement, and the challenge of supporting an increasingly diverse, multi-generational workforce. With stress levels highest among younger workers who will comprise the majority of the workforce within the next decade, the research highlights growing pressure for employers to evolve their approach to employee well-being.

“What we’re seeing is a workforce in transition, with traditional support systems that aren’t keeping pace. Behind these statistics are real people struggling to focus at work because they’re worried about paying rent, or they’re making critical decisions while emotionally overwhelmed, or they simply have no one to call when life gets hard,” said Jaclyn Wainwright, co-founder & CEO of Humankind. “The quality of people’s lives directly impacts their ability to perform, and employers have both an opportunity and a responsibility to intervene proactively before stress erodes engagement, productivity, and retention. We need to rethink how we support the human condition at work.”

The data suggests that traditional approaches to employee benefits—passive programs that wait for workers to self-identify needs and navigate resources on their own—may not adequately address the employees who need support most. As the workforce shifts younger and social support networks erode, the gap between employee need and employer response may widen in the future. These findings align with emerging workforce strategies that emphasize proactive outreach and personalized support that connects employees to resources at the moment they need them most, rather than waiting for individuals to seek help independently.