What Will Break Down and What Will Break Through in the 2026 Workforce
Healthcare workers are disengaging, deskless workers are hungry to grow, and high performers are protecting their well-being in the face of grind culture.
For 2026, meQ data experts have analyzed new, unique data on workforce performance and well-being, surfacing insights that upend expectations:
- Healthcare workers, historically among the most mission-driven, have stopped believing that self-improvement pays off.
- Deskless and hourly workers are hungry for growth, rivaling tech employees in their drive for continuous improvement.
- The most resilient, high-performing employees succeed and drive growth because they protect their well-being, not despite it.
These findings from meQ’s upcoming Winter 2026 State of the Workforce Report show that the employees you’re not looking at hold the most potential, and the employees you’re counting on are quietly breaking down. Here’s what that means for your workforce.
In 2026, High Performance Doesn’t Have to Be a Grind
“Grind culture will not lead to high performance in 2026, even as overwork trends like ‘996’ have their moment in the AI boom. Individuals and organizations that perform best will work the hardest—but they’ll never stop protecting long-term well-being.
In the hundreds of workforce cultures I’ve supported, grind culture has served exactly no one. Not people, not the bottom line. meQ’s Winter 2026 State of the Workforce Report reinforces this: employees who believe in grind culture experience dramatically elevated burnout, roughly 50% higher than their peers.
Conversely, high performers work as hard as possible, but when they’ve done all they can, they protect their well-being. As the meQ report shows, these resilient people believe that hard work pays off, but reject sacrificing everything to grind. Successful organizations intentionally foster workforce resilience and proactively invest in manager support to reduce workplace stress.
The report also shows 55% of people believe failing to constantly improve means falling behind. This is encouraging for 2026 performance, as long as continuous improvement isn’t just about upskilling, but includes mental health, wellness, and resilience.”
—Andrew Shatté, PhD, Chief Knowledge Officer and co-founder, meQuilibrium
Healthcare’s Silent Crisis Finally Hits: Demoralized Workers No Longer Believe That Self-Improvement Pays Off
“New data from meQ’s State of the Workforce Report reveals a troubling trend: healthcare workers are showing the lowest belief in continuous self-improvement across all industries; just 42.9% agree that failing to improve means falling behind—compared to 66.9% in technology fields. This decline likely reflects chronic exhaustion translating into disengagement from both personal and professional growth.
After years of understaffing, pandemic burnout, and unrelenting pressure, many in the healthcare workforce are losing faith that development, recognition, and advancement are attainable. This is more than job dissatisfaction, it’s an industry-wide reckoning. Unless healthcare organizations take urgent steps to restore belief in the value of growth and support, retention and performance challenges will only compound.
Demoralized healthcare workers rarely walk away abruptly. Instead, they first disengage, cease trying to improve, and eventually leave. Addressing this silent crisis now is essential for any organization hoping to build resilience, foster retention, and safeguard quality care for the future.”
—Adam Perlman, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Co-founder, meQuilibrium
Deskless and Hourly Workers Will Lead the Charge on Self-Improvement and Productivity
“meQ’s Winter 2026 State of the Workforce Report reveals that nearly 60% of manufacturing workers believe in constantly improving or they’ll fall behind. Surprisingly, this is second only to tech employees, long known for their competitive drive.
Deskless workers’ motivation represents untapped, large-scale potential in 2026. They are eager to develop new skills. Companies that invest in accessible, frontline-focused development programs will unlock operational excellence and innovation from employees closest to the work—the backbone of operations, the people closest to customers, and the ones making excellence happen daily.
The workforce’s appetite for growth is there. Smart organizations will act on it, building competitive advantage from the ground up.”
—Steve Foster, Executive Chairman, meQuilibrium
Proactive Resilience Building Will Dominate Workforce Strategy in 2026
“Our world is rapidly changing, and employers must equip their people with the proper support and skills to combat the headwinds of stress and burnout. In 2026, companies will double down on making proactive resilience a core workforce strategy due to its powerful long-term effect, ROI, and performance benefits.
Resilient employees experience a 66% greater reduction in burnout compared to their less resilient peers and greater improvements in stress symptoms, according to meQ’s State of the Workforce Report. They are also 33% more likely to believe effort leads to reward, while avoiding the toxic tradeoffs associated with grind culture. The compounding advantages accelerate over time, translating directly into improved engagement, optimized mental well-being, and stronger organizational performance.
Managers will continue to be key drivers of proactive resilience strategy (supportive managers reduce employee burnout by 58%). Soft skills development and training managers to model resilience will continue to be a competitive advantage.”
—Brad Swingruber, Chief Executive Officer, meQuilibrium
What This Means for Your Workforce
The old playbook isn’t working anymore. Pushing harder doesn’t create high performance. Waiting for crises doesn’t protect your workforce. Ignoring deskless employees wastes potential. And reactive well-being programs don’t move the needle.
The organizations that win in 2026 will be the ones that build resilience before it’s needed, invest in growth where others see limitations, and recognize that sustainable performance requires protecting the people who drive it.
Ready to build proactive resilience into your workforce strategy? Book a demo to see how meQ helps you turn every employee into a force for growth.
