Toronto, ON (June 2, 2026) \u2013 Health challenges are significantly impacting both employee well-being and workplace productivity across Canada, according to The Wellness Report by Manulife Canada.<\/p>\n
Drawing on responses from nearly 4,700 employees across 159 organizations with a Manulife Group Benefits plan, the report reveals that while three per cent of total working time is lost to absences due to health issues, a much larger portion \u2013 19 per cent \u2013 is affected by health-related productivity challenges. Combined, this represents the equivalent of 46 lost working days per employee each year under a standard five-day work week.<\/p>\n
Crucially, most of this lost productivity occurs while employees are still on the job. Health challenges, like mental fatigue, stress, and burnout are undermining focus, energy and the ability to perform at full capacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cLosing the equivalent of 46 working days per employee isn\u2019t just a productivity issue, it tells us people are struggling in ways we don\u2019t always see,\u201d said Ashesh Desai, Head of Group Benefits at Manulife Canada. \u201cEmployees are still showing up, but burnout and mental fatigue are limiting how they contribute and perform. That gives employers a clear opportunity to make a meaningful difference and better support their teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mental health and burnout are major factors<\/b><\/p>\n
Mental health continues to be a defining factor in employee well-being and performance. Among those surveyed:<\/p>\n
Other aspects of health are also taking a toll. More than half of employees (53 per cent) reported poor sleep quality, while nearly one-third (32 per cent) cited lack of time as the primary barrier to improving their physical health. Employees also identified physical activity, workplace factors, and nutrition as their top areas of concern\u2013highlighting the interconnected nature of health and overall productivity.<\/p>\n
The findings point to an opportunity for employers to play a more active role\u2013not just by offering benefit programs, but by making them easier to access and use.
The Wellness Report highlights a range of supports that can help employees address health challenges earlier, including Employee and Family Assistance Programs (EFAP), mental health practitioner coverage, digital health tools, community resources, physical health support, and financial wellness programs.<\/p>\n
Through The Wellness Report, participating employees receive a Personal Health Report with individualized results and recommendations to help support their physical, mental, financial and organizational wellness. Organizations with over 25 employee responses receive an Organizational Health Report with aggregate and anonymized workforce findings and strategies to help improve employee wellness.<\/p>\n
\u201cBenefits are a strong foundation,\u201d adds Desai. \u201cBut the real impact comes when employees know what\u2019s available to them and feel confident using those supports. When access is simple and timely, people are much more likely to get help early, setting them up to stay healthy, engaged, and at their best.\u201d<\/p>\n
More information about Manulife Group Benefits is available here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Manulife Canada\u2019s complete Wellness Report is available here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Manulife Financial Corporation (TSX\/NYSE\/PSE: MFC, SEHK: 945)<\/em> is a leading international financial services provider, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Anchored in our ambition to be the number one choice for customers, we operate as Manulife across Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, providing financial advice, insurance and health solutions for individuals, groups and businesses. Through Manulife Wealth & Asset Management, we offer global investment solutions, financial advice, and retirement plan services to individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2025, we had more than 37,000 employees, over 106,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 37 million customers with operations across 25 markets globally. We trade as \u2018MFC\u2019 on the Toronto, New York, and Philippine stock exchanges, and under \u2018945\u2019 on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For more information, visit www.manulife.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n SOURCE: Manulife Financial Corporation<\/em><\/p>\n Tags: benefits<\/a>, health care<\/a>, Manulife<\/a>, mental health care<\/a>, report<\/a>, survey<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New data reveals one-fifth of work time impacted by health challenges, putting pressure on employees and workplaces Toronto, ON (June 2, 2026) \u2013 Health challenges are significantly impacting both employee well-being and workplace productivity across...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[1],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25129"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25129\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}About Manulife<\/b><\/h4>\n