Inside Employees’ Minds™ 2025-2026: A workforce facing uncertainty and instability  

Pressures today stem from familiar forces — an unsettled economy, technology moving faster than operating models, and lean staffing on the ground — pushing job security and financial stability to the centre of the employee experience.

• Economic uncertainty remains the backdrop. Markets have not settled, and concerns about trade persist. Employees report that inflation and volatility continue to elevate financial stress, and many worry about the wider economic outlook. Job security has seen an increase as an important consideration in both attraction and retention, underscoring how closely people are watching demand and staffing signals. 
• Technology is a double-edged sword. AI sits at the centre of both optimism and concern. Many employees see real potential for efficiency; many also expect AI to impact job security and to make work feel harder in the near term as new tools are introduced. Employees look for specifics: where responsibilities will shift, when changes will happen, and how workloads will be managed during transition.
• Path to career growth is becoming less clear. Forty percent of employees noted that their organization or their manager does not provide them with information on the skills they need to advance. While majority perceived a good understanding of the skills needed to progress, the sentiment is declining. Furthermore, only half of the labour force is compensated by their employer for attaining new skills. 

Faced with this mix of stressors, employees are choosing stability: They’re staying in the roles they hold and asking for the clarity that makes staying a smart decision.

• Staying in their current job. In uncertain markets, many people choose to stay, yet motivation and belonging are on the decline. This is common during periods of economic uncertainty and cooling job markets; employees go into job preservation mode. However, many correlates of intent to stay, such as belonging, motivation, and feeling energized at work have low scores or are declining, begging the question: Will this last?
• Assurances that build trust: pay clarity. Transparency has become part of the employee deal. Candidates increasingly expect to see posted ranges in job descriptions and pay sharing among colleagues has become more common — especially among younger workers. Posting is only the start. Understanding how pay is determined and how it progresses is what helps employees decide to commit.
• Flexibility and time off people can count on. Workload is increasing and satisfaction with flexible work arrangements is decreasing. While most prefer a hybrid work arrangement, the majority work on-site full time. More time off, more flexibility, and reduced workload are the top three actions selected by employees to support mental health. Employees are interested in a range of flexibility options, but the top change employees would like to see is to work a compressed workweek and this is consistent across most age groups.

Following multiple years of mounting strain, we are seeing some modest relief for some portions of the workforce, but no overall let-up. Even as pressures around covering monthly expenses are easing in relation to prior periods, it is still the most important concern for employees. For most, inflation and market volatility continue to produce financial stress, and tariff concerns are widespread.

That said, employees are drawing a distinction between the broader economy and their employer: they tend to feel more optimistic and confident about their organization’s prospects than about the national outlook, which makes near term signals from leadership — demand, staffing, priorities — especially influential. This may be a sign that employees are looking to their employers as a stabilizing force.

These dynamics might explain why employees are choosing to stay while asking for clearer pay and clearer plans.

Top concerns for Canadian employees are focused on personal wellbeing, job security, and financial stability: