Financial Preparedness is Malaysia’s Clearest Opportunity to Build a More Resilient Workforce

The Global People Resilience Study 2026, published by Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) in collaboration with the Oxford Research & Development Partners (Oxford), surveyed 11,175 working-age adults across 16 countries, including Malaysia. The study introduces a Personal Resilience Index — a framework that measures resilience and the factors that shape it across five interconnected domains: psychological, physical, social, financial and digital.

“As AI and other forces accelerate changes in how we work, personal resilience is becoming an important indicator of workforce readiness. That is why helping employees build the confidence, skills and financial protection to adapt is becoming a clear opportunity for employers. If companies want people who can sustain and improve performance as work changes, they need to invest in resilience, not just productivity,” says Alison Martin, CEO Life, Health and Bank Distribution.

Teo Mye Lene, Chief People Officer of Zurich Malaysia, said, "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."

Malaysia’s Resilience Profile: Strong Foundations, Clear Gaps

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, with 39% of the workforce in the "thriving" band. The highest-scoring items are drive to learn new skills and confidence in reaching goals, suggesting a workforce that is motivated and forward-looking.

However, the study identifies financial resilience as Malaysia's clearest opportunity to strengthen overall resilience. It is the weakest-scoring domain despite being one of the most powerful drivers. 39% of Malaysian workers report not having a savings buffer to fall back on, and confidence that insurance and takaful protection meet their needs scores among the lowest of all items measured. Globally, only 51% of workers feel confident they could cover a few months without income, and only 61% believe their insurance and takaful protection meet their needs. This is significant because unexpected setbacks, whether illness, a sudden loss of income, or caring responsibilities, can quickly create financial pressure that makes it harder for people to stay focused, productive, and confident at work.

Physical Health: Malaysia’s Strongest Resilience Driver

Physical health emerges as the strongest driver of overall resilience in Malaysia and also scores highest of all domains. While this represents a position of strength, the study cautions that it should not be taken for granted. Sleep quality, nutrition and energy management all contribute to sustained resilience, and only 12% of Malaysian workers report poor sleep quality, better than the global average of 17%. As work patterns continue to shift, employers who invest in sustaining this advantage will be better positioned to maintain workforce resilience over time.

Digital Fluency as an Emerging Catalyst

The research also highlights digital adaptability as an emerging dimension of workforce readiness. In Malaysia, 37% of workers use generative AI daily, above the global average of 32%. Across the study, regular users of generative AI report higher resilience scores, suggesting that confidence in navigating new technologies may increasingly shape how well employees adapt to change.

Key findings at a glance

• Malaysian workers score 4.26 on the Personal Resilience Index, above the global average of 4.11, with 39% of the workforce in the "thriving" band (resilience score above 4.5).
• Employees with the highest resilience report good or excellent performance at twice the rate of those with the lowest resilience, while resilience is 2.5 times more predictive of job performance than income.
• Financial resilience is Malaysia's weakest domain but one of the strongest drivers of overall resilience — 39% of Malaysian workers do not have a savings buffer, compared with 49% globally.
• Physical health is the strongest driver of overall resilience in Malaysia and also its highest-scoring domain — only 12% report poor sleep quality, compared with 17% globally.
• Age is the sharpest demographic divide: workers aged 18–34 score 4.30 versus 4.07 for those aged 50 and above.
• 37% of Malaysian workers use generative AI daily, versus 32% globally; regular AI users report higher resilience scores.
• Highly resilient employees are more than four times as likely to recommend their employer and report an employee Net Promoter Score 75 points higher than the least resilient group.

The Global People Resilience Study surveyed 11,175 working-age adults across 16 countries, with per-country samples ranging from 499 to 1,110. Respondents were aged 18 to 69 (mean age 38) and the sample was close to gender-balanced at 49% women and 51% men. Markets covered: Australia, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.

The study’s Personal Resilience Index assesses three dimensions of resilience (beliefs, capabilities and behaviors) and traits, resources, and capacities across five life domains (psychological, physical, social, financial, digital). The framework is informed by more than 130 academic papers and was developed in collaboration with Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Director of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford and Oxford Research & Development Partners. The Personal Resilience Index is a proprietary tool owned by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd© 2026.