Employees often find that their benefits come up short just when they need them most. Although many employers plan to expand offerings and investment this year, benefit strategies often struggle to deliver measurable impact, the 2026 Workplace Benefits Report from Empathy found.
"From this research, it's clear that employers have a unique opportunity to create benefit programs that meaningfully support employees during life's most disruptive moments," said Ron Gura, the company's cofounder and CEO. "Bereavement stands out as the clearest, most urgent entry point -- not just as a fringe benefit but as a core example of how employers can move beyond more generic offerings toward more relevant, yet comprehensive, support."
More than 8 in 10 employers say they plan to expand bereavement support this year, while 95% of employees say bereavement-related benefits are valuable to them. The survey found several significant gaps between employer offerings and worker needs.
- Eighty percent of employers expect benefits budgets to increase in 2026, but most increases are modest, driving greater selectivity and focus on outcomes.
- Employers are clear about the problems they want benefits to address, with one-third wanting to improve employee wellbeing and 30% wanting to provide competitive benefits packages.
- Six in 10 employers and more than half of employees believe existing benefits are only somewhat or not at all aligned with current needs, highlighting a clear gap between investment and potential impact.
- Utilization and understanding of benefits remain a challenge. Employees cite difficulty understanding benefits (27%), accessing information (23%) and navigating complexity (23%). This illustrates why benefits often fail at the moment of need.
- Employers and employees are aligned on where benefits should expand in 2026 --mental health, financial wellness, flexibility and life-event support.
- Nearly half of employees expect formal employer support during major life disruptions. At the same time, nearly one in three employers say supporting employees through major life events is a top challenge.
- Employees who experienced a major life-event or disruption in the past two years -- such as the death of a loved one, serious illness, caregiving or pregnancy loss – are more than 1-1/2 times more likely to identify bereavement and grief support as one of their biggest unmet benefits needs.
Life events trigger significant emotional, physical and financial disruptions that affect all areas of life, including work. These moments are the organizing principle for effective benefits design, because they allow employers to support workers in times of real need.
"By centering offerings around critical events across the employee journey, employers can boost employee engagement, retention and overall performance, while building greater confidence in their employee programs," the report concluded. "This shift redefines benefits not as static transactions but as dynamic expressions of care that evolve with employees' real lives, strengthening both organizational readiness and long-term resilience."
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.