⁠63% of Canadian Workers Say Cost of Living Is Their No. 1 Money Stress — and 1 in 5 Say It Hurts Their Work

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For millions of Canadian workers, money worries are no longer staying at home when the workday begins. New TELUS Health data shows that 63% identify the cost of living as their biggest source of financial stress, far ahead of concerns about retirement or emergency savings. More troubling for employers, one in five workers say financial pressure is already hurting their productivity.

The findings arrive as Canadians continue to face elevated everyday costs, uneven wage gains and lingering economic uncertainty. They also show how quickly household finances can become a workplace issue. Workers without emergency savings, younger employees, parents and caregivers appear particularly exposed, while many employees say they do not fully understand benefits that could help strengthen their financial position.

Cost of Living Has Eclipsed Other Financial Worries

Cost of living dominates the financial concerns measured in TELUS Health’s Q2 2026 Mental Health Index. Sixty-three per cent of Canadian workers identified it as their main financial stressor. By comparison, only 12% pointed to retirement savings and 8% named emergency savings as their primary concern. That gap suggests the most immediate problem for many workers is not planning decades into the future. It is keeping ordinary monthly expenses manageable now.

The pressure also reaches beyond people who describe finances as their single biggest concern. TELUS Health found that 69% of Canadian workers worry about their financial situation at least sometimes. Thirty-five per cent said they feel anxious about money always or often, while 12% said the anxiety never really stops. That last group recorded a Mental Health Index score of just 39.5, substantially below the overall Canadian workforce benchmark. The numbers suggest financial strain increasingly overlaps with emotional well-being rather than remaining a purely budgeting-related problem.

Money Stress Is Showing Up During the Workday

The workplace impact is one of the clearest findings. Twenty per cent of Canadian workers said financial stress had directly hurt their productivity, while 5% said money-related anxiety had caused them to miss work altogether. TELUS Health also identified difficulty concentrating among 14% of workers and reduced workplace engagement among 18%, offering a picture of financial stress that includes presenteeism as well as outright absence.

The mental-health gap between affected and unaffected employees was substantial. Workers reporting productivity damage from financial stress recorded an Index score of 47.3, compared with 71.7 among workers who did not report that problem. Academic research points in the same direction. A 2024 review covering 136 empirical studies found financial stress was associated with poorer employee health, commitment and job performance, among other workplace outcomes. That does not prove every distracted worker will perform poorly, but it strengthens the case that personal financial instability can become an operational issue for employers when it is widespread.

A Missing Emergency Cushion Changes the Picture Dramatically

One of the strongest dividing lines in the TELUS findings is whether workers have money available for an unexpected expense. Twenty-eight per cent of Canadian employees said they lacked emergency savings sufficient to cover basic needs. Those without an emergency cushion recorded a Mental Health Index score of 49.1, compared with 69.7 for workers who had savings available. They were also nearly three times as likely to say financial stress had hurt their productivity.

That difference helps explain why something as ordinary as a vehicle repair, dental expense or interruption in income can create such a large psychological burden. Without cash available, an unexpected bill can quickly become a credit-card balance, loan or missed payment. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada recommends gradually building emergency savings equivalent to roughly three to six months of regular expenses or income. That target may be difficult for households already struggling with everyday bills, but the agency stresses that even smaller savings can reduce reliance on expensive forms of borrowing when emergencies occur.

Younger Workers Appear Especially Exposed

Age matters significantly. TELUS Health found that workers under 40 were three-and-a-half times more likely than employees over 50 to say financial stress was hurting their productivity. Younger adults may be earning more than they did early in their careers, but many are simultaneously dealing with rent or mortgage costs, childcare, student debt, transportation expenses and the challenge of building savings from a relatively small starting base.

Statistics Canada has found a similar age divide outside the workplace. Its 2026 analysis of Canadian Social Survey data showed that 43% of adults aged 25 to 44 reported experiencing financial difficulty in 2024 and 2025, compared with 38% of those aged 45 to 64 and 24% of seniors. The agency noted that younger Canadians tend to devote a larger share of income to shelter and face greater difficulties entering the housing market and accumulating wealth. Taken together, the findings suggest younger workers are not simply more anxious about money; many are operating with less financial room to absorb higher costs or unexpected setbacks.

Parents and Caregivers Are Facing Pressure From Both Directions

Financial stress becomes more complicated when a paycheque supports more than one generation. TELUS Health found parents were 80% more likely than their counterparts to report productivity losses connected with financial strain. Meanwhile, 27% of Canadian workers said they provide financial support or caregiving to either adult children or aging parents. Among those caregivers, 37% reported a negative financial impact, 32% reported harm to their mental health and 15% reported an impact on workplace productivity.

Canada’s broader caregiving data shows how large this group already is. Statistics Canada estimated that 1.8 million Canadians were “sandwich caregivers” in 2022, simultaneously providing unpaid care to children and care-dependent adults. Sixty per cent were between ages 25 and 54, placing much of the burden directly on people in their prime working years. For these households, financial stress can involve groceries and mortgages alongside childcare, transportation to appointments, medication costs or helping an adult child establish financial independence. A single workplace benefit rarely addresses that entire combination.

Many Workers Do Not Fully Understand Benefits They Already Have

The research also identifies an important knowledge gap. Among Canadian employees contributing to workplace retirement or savings programs, 60% said they did not have a strong understanding of how those programs worked. Employees reporting no understanding of their pension or retirement plan scored 19.3 points lower on the Mental Health Index than workers who understood their plans well.

That finding matters because compensation is more than salary. Employer matching, pensions, group retirement accounts and other benefits can represent significant financial value, but only when employees understand how to use them. TELUS Health found 63% of workers wanted more employer-provided information, resources or support involving retirement, pensions and savings plans. Federal financial-wellness guidance similarly recommends that employers tailor education to different stages of employees’ lives. A worker paying down student debt may need very different information from a 55-year-old deciding how much to contribute before retirement. Better communication cannot eliminate high living costs, but it can prevent valuable benefits from becoming overlooked or misunderstood parts of compensation.

Recent Inflation Data Helps Explain Why Affordability Still Feels Difficult

The latest economic numbers provide useful context. Statistics Canada reported that consumer prices were 3.0% higher in July 2026 than a year earlier. Grocery prices increased 3.1%, marking the 18th consecutive month in which grocery inflation had outpaced overall inflation. Gasoline prices were up 25.7% year over year, contributing significantly to the acceleration in the headline Consumer Price Index.

Meanwhile, average hourly wages among employees rose 2.8% year over year in July. In that particular monthly comparison, wage growth therefore ran slightly below headline inflation. More importantly, slower inflation would not mean that earlier increases in prices had disappeared. The Bank of Canada has emphasized the distinction between inflation and the price level: when inflation slows but remains positive, prices generally continue rising, only more slowly. Its second-quarter consumer expectations research also found that high prices and economic uncertainty remained major restraints on household spending. Some participants described cutting travel, restaurant meals and driving as they adjusted household budgets.

Financial Difficulty Is Becoming Entangled With Mental Well-Being

The TELUS Mental Health Index stood at 63.9 in the second quarter of 2026. Thirty-three per cent of Canadian workers were classified as having a high mental-health risk, while 45% were in the moderate-risk category. Anxiety and isolation remained among the weakest components measured by the Index. Financial pressure was associated with elevated stress, disrupted sleep and lower engagement, showing how concerns about bills can spill into areas far removed from a bank account.

Statistics Canada has documented a similar relationship between financial difficulty and broader quality of life. From 2021 through 2025, the share of Canadians reporting financial difficulty rose steadily, while measures of high life satisfaction and hopefulness declined. In spring 2025, 63% of people who were not experiencing financial challenges described themselves as often or always hopeful about the future, compared with just 44% among those experiencing financial difficulty. The relationship is an association rather than proof that financial problems alone caused poorer well-being, but the divide is substantial.

Employers Have a Role, but Financial Wellness Is Not a Substitute for Pay

The most direct message for employers may be that workers themselves are asking for help. Beyond the 63% seeking greater retirement and savings support, TELUS Health found employees also wanted assistance with investing, tax planning, emergency savings and debt management. Those preferences point toward practical financial education rather than generic messaging about wellness. Federal guidance recommends assessing employee needs first and building programs around real financial circumstances, career stages and existing benefits.

There is also reason to avoid treating financial education as a complete solution. A workplace seminar cannot lower grocery prices, eliminate rent increases or create disposable income where little exists. Still, evidence indicates that reducing financial confusion and stress can matter. The 2024 systematic academic review of 136 studies concluded that financial stress is connected with workplace health and performance outcomes and recommended including financial wellness tools in human-resources strategies. For employers, the strongest approach may therefore combine understandable benefits, accessible financial resources and competitive compensation rather than expecting workers to budget their way out of every affordability problem.

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