Back

The 2026 Health and Wellness Roadmap: build your employee well-being strategy [FREE Download]

By: Benefits by Design | Tuesday January 20, 2026

Updated : Monday January 19, 2026

The 2026 Health and Wellness Roadmap: build your employee well-being strategy [Free Download]

Presenting the 2026 Health and Wellness Roadmap! This year is all about balance as businesses navigate tight budgets, uncertain supply chains and tariffs, and new opportunities. Employee well-being will play a strategic role in a successful path forward. Issues like employee burnout, financial stress, caregiver responsibilities, women’s health, mental health, chronic conditions, depression, and physical and social health all need addressing.

It can feel somewhat daunting, but luckily, we’ve created a jumping point for you to start tackling these issues. Build a thriving workplace culture by implementing a few of these ideas and being consistent in your approach.

[FREE DOWNLOAD] 2026 Health and Wellness Roadmap: PDF 9.9MB)

What’s in the Roadmap this year

Every year we try to shake up the Health and Wellness Roadmap somewhat and include a couple of different aspects to keep things fresh. With the understanding that all aspects of health affect one another, we also removed the four pillars of health to promote a more holistic approach, although we still appreciate the guidance they provide.

13 Tips to Help Promote Employee Health and Wellbeing – Part 1

Wellness action plan

For the first time, we’ve included a ‘Wellness action plan’ for each month, tailored to the main theme. The plans give you a starting point for different wellness activities and opportunities for awareness sessions, complete with links for further exploration. Plus, links to services and products that can help employees with specific well-being goals that pertain to the monthly theme.

13 Tips to Help Promote Employee Health and Wellbeing – Part 2

Monthly themes

Speaking of monthly themes, we collaborated with the People Corporation Health Solutions team to bring you the monthly themes that they use to promote health and wellness all year. For example, March is Nutrition Month, so we include links like this one to enhance your knowledge: The Connection Between Mental Health and Eating.

Employers can leverage the 2026 Health and Wellness Roadmap themes to boost enthusiasm and awareness for specific wellness initiatives. The themes can serve as starting points for healthy changes or employee activities and challenges. They can also provide ideas for different causes and reasons to gather.

Important dates

There are days worth celebrating or acknowledging every month, and the health and wellness space is no exception. We’ve curated a list of these important dates and presented them for each month. Not all dates will resonate with all companies, but this quick snapshot allows employers to choose which ones stand out for them and their employees.

For example, January 21 is Bell Let’s Talk Day – an awareness campaign that was started to help end the stigma around mental health discussions. Some workplaces may choose to promote mental health discussions during the month of May instead of on just one day in January.

Another example is Earth Day on April 22. Some companies might be excited to promote green initiatives or volunteering for parks clean-up on this day. While others may choose to promote volunteering on December 5, which is International Volunteer Day.

Whatever you decide, each date has a link to find out more information about the day and how it can be celebrated or recognized.

Did you know?

New this year, we’ve added an interesting statistic or fact for each month that corresponds to the monthly theme and connects to the ‘Wellness action plan’. Each one illustrates either the benefits of healthy habits or employee health and wellness, or highlights health trends and statistics. Helping employers and employees home in on important health issues or well-being benefits.

The importance of employee health and wellness

Employees are the backbone of any organization. It’s no wonder that employee compensation is the single largest expense for any company. Which is why keeping those costs contained requires smart planning and strategy.

The cost of replacing an employee can equal up to 33% of their annual pay, not to mention lost institutional knowledge.

Addressing the health of current employees is also key to managing costs. Promote preventative care as much as possible to mitigate the onset or worsening of chronic conditions or mental health issues.

Healthy employees take fewer leaves of absences, disability leaves, and sick days. It’s important to bear in mind that vacation time and personal time off (PTO) should be encouraged as part of that care, since work-life balance can help those struggling mentally or with caregiving responsibilities.

Employees expect their employers to play a significant role in helping them maintain their health and well-being. Consequently, a strong wellness program can lead to better employee attraction and retention.

The health and wellness roadmap is designed to stimulate ideas and ways to incorporate all types of well-being initiatives at work.

Ultimately, it takes an ongoing commitment and a culture that encourages employees to take control of their health journeys while participating in activities both at work and at home.