Malaysian workers are showing relatively high levels of personal resilience, but financial insecurity remains the country's clearest resilience gap, with nearly four in 10 workers reporting that they do not have a savings buffer to fall back on, according to the Global People Resilience Study 2026.
Published by Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) in collaboration with Oxford Research & Development Partners (Oxford), the study found that Malaysian workers scored 4.26 on the Personal Resilience Index, above the global average of 4.11 and close to the global high of 4.38. Overall, 39 per cent of Malaysian workers were classified in the "thriving" band.
The findings suggest that while Malaysian workers demonstrate strong adaptability and motivation, financial security remains a key factor that could influence their ability to sustain resilience through periods of uncertainty.
Financial resilience lags
Financial resilience was the weakest-scoring domain for Malaysian workers, despite being identified as one of the strongest drivers of overall resilience.
Nearly 39 per cent of Malaysian workers reported that they did not have a savings buffer to fall back on. Confidence that insurance and takaful protection adequately meets their needs also ranked among the lowest-scoring items measured in the study.
Globally, only 51 per cent of workers said they were confident they could cover a few months without income, while 61 per cent believed their insurance and takaful protection met their needs.
Financial pressures arising from unexpected events, including illness, loss of income or caring responsibilities, can affect employees' ability to remain focused and confident at work, highlighting the link between financial security and workforce resilience.
Learning drives resilience
Malaysian workers scored particularly strongly on their willingness to learn new skills and confidence in reaching their goals, pointing to a workforce that is motivated to develop and adapt.
Physical health also emerged as the country's strongest resilience driver and the highest-scoring resilience domain.
Only 12 per cent of Malaysian workers reported poor sleep quality, compared with 17 per cent globally. The study noted that sleep quality, nutrition and energy management remain important to sustaining resilience as workplace patterns continue to evolve.
AI adoption rises
Digital adaptability is also emerging as an important dimension of workforce readiness.
Around 37 per cent of Malaysian workers reported using generative AI daily, compared with 32 per cent globally. Across the study, regular generative AI users reported higher resilience scores, indicating a potential link between digital confidence and employees' ability to adapt to workplace change.
The findings suggest that digital fluency could increasingly complement traditional resilience factors as employees navigate changing roles, technologies and ways of working.
Employers face broader resilience role
Teo Mye Lene, chief people officer at Zurich Malaysia, said that Malaysians have shown remarkable resilience in the face of uncertainty, but resilience is strongest when it is backed by financial security.
“With nearly four in ten workers lacking emergency savings, building financial resilience has never been more important. At Zurich Malaysia, we believe financial resilience is the foundation of confidence. By helping people prepare for life's uncertainties, we empower them to adapt, recover, and thrive through whatever comes next," she said.
The Global People Resilience Study surveyed 11,175 working-age adults across 16 countries, with country-level samples ranging from 499 to 1,110 respondents. Participants were aged between 18 and 69, with an average age of 38, and the sample was broadly gender-balanced, comprising 49 per cent women and 51 per cent men.
The Asian markets covered in the study included Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.
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