Research links financial pressure to absenteeism and burnout and rising staff turnover across Australian workplaces
Nearly two-thirds of employees are struggling financially, and the fallout is landing squarely on employers' desks.
New research from Gallagher's Workplace Wellbeing Index: Financial Edition found that 63 per cent of the 3,598 employees surveyed across Australia and New Zealand are financially unwell, one in three now holds a second job, nearly two-thirds are struggling financially, and more than a quarter admit they are regularly distracted at work by money worries.
The report ties financial stress directly to workplace performance. More than a third of employees are losing sleep because of financial stress, one in three report coming to work unwell because they cannot afford not to, and financial wellbeing and mental health now rank as the strongest drivers of overall workplace wellbeing.
Twenty-six per cent of employees are experiencing burnout, with younger workers among the most affected, while nearly 40 per cent of workers under 34 now have a side hustle.
Silvia Pothoven, head of corporate benefits for Gallagher's Benefits & HR Consulting Division, said the scale of the problem had surprised even a 26-year veteran of the financial wellbeing sector.
"Financial stress has traditionally been viewed as a personal issue, but our research suggests employers may be underestimating its impact on workforce performance," Pothoven said.
"When employees are losing sleep, taking on second jobs, coming to work unwell and admitting they're distracted by financial pressures, the effects extend far beyond their personal finances. These are factors that influence productivity, engagement, retention and overall workforce resilience."
The findings track a broader shift already visible in Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data showing multiple job-holders hit a record 1,049,100 people in the June 2026 quarter – 6.9 per cent of the workforce. For HR teams, that raises questions that go beyond wellbeing into legal exposure created when employees juggle a second job alongside their main role, from fatigue-related safety risk to conflicts of interest.
Pothoven said the pattern was not always about scraping by. "Every single Uber driver we spoke to, the Uber driving was their side hustle," she said. "One of them was an actual actuary. We know they're not exactly poorly paid for their role, and they were still doing it. But it meant the difference between putting his kids in extracurricular activities or not." She said the flow-on effects – fatigue, distraction, reduced focus – were increasingly showing up in workers' compensation claims.
What HR teams can actually do
Pothoven said the answer was rarely a bigger budget. "It's not always dollars that need to be thrown at the problem," she said. "Sometimes it's actually going through the partners that you've already got – whether it's an employee assistance program, your payroll provider, your banking relationship or your superannuation fund – and looking at how they can better support your people."
Left unaddressed, Pothoven warned, the consequences compound. "You are going to have higher levels of absenteeism, higher levels of people being present but not present," she said.
"You are going to have higher turnover, because people are looking outside of your bank. Your employer is the one that knows most about you – so if they can't rely on an employer, they will seek somewhere else."
She likened the moment to the early stages of workplace mental health awareness: "When mental health became one of those topics of interest, it was seen that if you weren't addressing it, you were an employer that didn't care. I think we're at that stage now with financial wellbeing."
