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04/29/2026
AI, cyber, geopolitics, and climate uncertainty are disrupting markets, supply chains, work, and well-being—and undermining employees' ability to thrive. Risk and HR leaders, like you, face an unprecedented pace of change, complexity, and interconnected risks, challenging your ability to respond and protect your organizations’ resilience.
The People Risk 2026 report shares the top 25 people risks ranked by 4,517 risk and HR professionals with data and insights from 26 markets and 12 key industries.
The nature of organizational risk is changing — and leaders sit at the intersection between a volatile world and their organization’s response. As these pressures intensify, leadership capability has become a critical control at the heart of effective risk management. When leaders lack the skills to adapt quickly, inspire a diverse workforce, and create understanding in the face of ambiguity, risks spread quickly across the organization.
Employees’ financial vulnerabilities are no longer just a personal issue. Financial insecurity has become a material organizational risk — one that directly affects productivity, retention, and behavior. In our research, employee financial insecurity ranks within the top ten risks for all regions and as the #4 people risk globally, reflecting the growing pressure employees face as living costs outpace wage growth.
Managing rewards and benefits is becoming significantly more complex. Rising health and benefit costs, shifting regulations, growing expectations of transparency, and expanding cyber exposure are all converging at a time when risk and HR teams are being asked to deliver more, with fewer resources and less margin for error.
Workforce health and safety provides the foundation of organizational performance. Employees cannot perform, adapt, or innovate if they are injured or unwell — or if they feel unsafe at work. Yet, despite the pandemic ending just three years ago, health-related risks and the importance of preventive actions appear to be receding from view — overshadowed by more immediate concerns such as cyber threats, AI disruption, and geopolitical instability.
The People Risk 2026 report is a resource for risk and HR professionals with responsibility for managing business and people-related risks. It is of particular relevance to HR buyers in functions related to risk, finance, AI, cyber, ERM, safety and health, resilience, and security, as well as those in more traditional claims, insurance, human resource (HR), benefits, total rewards, well-being, and compensation roles related to managing people risks.
This report equips risk and HR functions with actionable insights necessary to navigate current and future uncertainties for 12 different industries, across regions and markets. Key industries include: communications, media and technology; construction and real estate; consumer goods; energy, including renewables; financial services; healthcare; higher education; life sciences; manufacturing; professional services; public sector/government; and retail/wholesale.