The Wellbeing Benefits Employees Love in 2026

Mental health support, flexibility and family benefits top the list of what people value most at work. New research from Gallup, Mercer, WTW and SHRM shows how global teams can bring them to life.

The most appreciated benefits of 2026 share one quality: they give people more room to live well. Mental health support, flexible schedules and family benefits now sit at the center of how employees judge a workplace, and the research shows real momentum behind them.

For companies with people in several countries, this is good news. These benefits travel well. A thoughtful mental health program, a clear approach to flexibility and generous family support can feel personal in Berlin, Bengaluru and Boston alike.

Wellbeing is moving in the right direction

Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2026 data summary, published in April 2026 and based on surveys across 2025, reports that 34% of employees worldwide are thriving in their overall lives, up from 33% a year earlier. Gallup notes this is the first improvement in global wellbeing in three years.

Some regions stand out. Latin America and the Caribbean (56%) and Australia and New Zealand (55%) posted the highest thriving rates. Managers are also doing well: 40% are thriving, compared with 32% of individual contributors. For global employers, these regional bright spots offer useful models of what a healthy working culture can look like.

The same Gallup data shows that employees who work fully remotely report the highest engagement of any work arrangement, at 30%. Flexibility, in other words, is working for many people.

Mental health support that people actually use

Mental health benefits have shifted from a niche offering to a core part of the employee experience. In its September 2025 summary of the Benefit Trends Survey, which covered more than 5,500 employers globally, WTW recommends mental health resources and greater benefit flexibility as ways to meet employee needs, noting that "wellbeing plays a big role in employees' lives."

Time away from work is one of the most effective forms of mental health support. Mercer's 2026 Inside Employees' Minds study, which surveyed more than 4,500 US employees in late 2025, found encouraging results:

• 78% of employees say they can fully use their paid vacation time.
• 74% say they can take time off when they choose.
• 70% say their paid time off adequately supports their mental health and family care needs.

Those numbers suggest that when time off is genuinely usable, people feel the benefit. The most effective programs pair counseling access and digital mental health tools with a culture where taking a day to recharge is normal and encouraged.

For multi-country teams, language and access make the difference. Counseling available in employees' own languages, apps that work on any phone and support lines that answer in every time zone help each person find support in a way that feels comfortable. Some companies also add company-wide recharge days, when every office pauses together, so no one feels they are missing out while they rest.

Flexibility remains a favorite

Flexibility continues to rank among the benefits employees value most. SHRM's 2025 Employee Benefits Survey, released in June 2025 and based on responses from 3,969 HR professionals, found that 68% of employers rank flexible working benefits among the most important they offer.

Employees agree. WTW's Global Benefits Attitudes research shows that people want more support for flexible work arrangements, with around half wanting more remote work options. For multi-country teams, flexibility has a bonus: it makes collaboration across time zones easier. A colleague in Singapore who can shift her day by two hours can join a live session with peers in London without strain.

Good flexibility programs tend to share a few traits:

• Clear guidelines so people know what is possible and feel confident using it.
• Core collaboration hours that protect time for teamwork across regions.
• Manager modeling, where leaders visibly use flexibility themselves.
• Local tailoring that respects public holidays and working norms in each country.

Family benefits are expanding

Family support is one of the fastest-growing areas of employee benefits. WTW's 2025 Benefit Trends Survey found that 69% of employers have enhanced maternity or primary caregiver leave, and another 17% are planning or considering it. In addition, 37% already offer adoption, fostering or surrogacy support, and 18% plan to add it.

Women's health is receiving more attention too. According to WTW, 62% of employers now provide medical benefits that support women's health, including menopause. Fertility support is growing as well: 13% of employers offer fertility treatments today, and a further 24% plan to.

SHRM's 2025 survey reinforces the trend from the HR side: 67% of employers rank family care benefits as important. For global teams, family benefits carry special weight because family structures and caregiving needs vary widely across cultures. A flexible family benefit that people can shape to their own lives often lands better than a single fixed program.

Ideas that work across borders

• A global minimum for parental leave that applies in every country, with local enhancements on top.
• Caregiver leave that covers parents, partners and extended family.
• Return-to-work programs that ease new parents back with phased schedules.
• Access to family planning and fertility guidance in every market.

Helping people see what they have

A benefit only creates value when people know about it. WTW research published in December 2025 found that 84% of employees now feel well informed about their company benefits, up from 77% in 2024.

That progress reflects better communication: short explainers, benefit guides in local languages and managers who mention benefits in regular conversations. For a multi-country team, a single clear benefits hub, with country pages underneath, helps every employee find what applies to them in minutes.

There is a retention story here as well. Mercer's 2026 study found that 73% of US employees are not seriously considering leaving their jobs, up from 68% in 2023, and healthcare benefits rank second only to pay as a reason people stay.

Building a wellbeing plan people will use

The wellbeing benefits people love in 2026 are practical, human and easy to use. For leaders of global teams, the opportunity is to build a consistent foundation that every employee shares, then add local touches that make it feel personal.

A simple starting plan:

• Listen first. Run a short pulse survey in each country to learn which benefits people value most.
• Set a global floor. Agree on shared standards for mental health support, time off and family leave.
• Make flexibility visible. Publish clear guidelines and celebrate leaders who use them.
• Communicate often. Share benefits in plain language, in local languages, several times a year.

The data points in an encouraging direction. Wellbeing is rising, family support is growing and employees are better informed than ever. Teams that invest in these areas give their people more reasons to stay, grow and do their best work together.

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