Understand, prioritise, and manage people risks for resilience and competitive advantage in 2026
AI, cyber, geopolitics, and climate uncertainty are disrupting markets, supply chains, work, and well-being—and undermining employees' ability to thrive. Risk and HR leaders face an unprecedented pace of change, complexity, and interconnected risks, challenging their ability to respond to uncertainty and protect organisational resilience.
The People Risk 2026 Asia snapshot shares the top 25 people risks ranked by 4,517 risk and HR professionals with data and insights from 26 markets, including 1,043 in Asia.
The research findings reveal that risk and HR leaders are aligned for seven of the top 10 risks. The report shows organisations:
- How to unlock cyber and AI value across your workforce.
- Why you need to strengthen supervisory and leadership skills as a risk control.
- How to shift from cost cutting to cost efficiency.
- How to make smarter use of data to strengthen governance.
- Why and how to intervene before health risks escalate.
Five imperatives for addressing people risk in Hong Kong:
The AI hustle: Unlocking real business value
As artificial intelligence reshapes expectations of work and accelerates organisational change, it is also redefining risk — and what it takes to remain competitive. While many employers remain focused on the dangers that AI can bring — from data loss to hallucinations — a far greater threat is emerging: failing to convert AI investment into meaningful productivity, innovation, and performance gains.
Surviving the fast lane: The new leadership challenge
The nature of organisational risk is changing and leaders sit at the intersection between a volatile world and their organisation’s response. As these pressures intensify, leadership capability has become a critical control at the heart of effective risk management. When leaders lack the skills to adapt quickly, inspire a diverse workforce, and create understanding in the face of ambiguity, risks spread quickly across the organisation.
Frayed loyalty: The growing risk of employee financial insecurity
Employees’ financial vulnerabilities are no longer just a personal issue. Financial insecurity has become a material organisational risk — one that directly affects productivity, retention, and behaviour. In our research, employee financial insecurity ranks within the top 10 risks for all regions and as the #4 people risk globally, reflecting the growing pressure employees face as living costs outpace wage growth.
Quest for clarity: Regaining control in a time of complexity
Managing rewards and benefits is becoming significantly more complex. Rising health and benefit costs, shifting regulations, growing expectations of transparency, and expanding cyber exposure are converging at a time when risk and HR teams are being asked to deliver more with fewer resources and less margin for error.
Hidden health risks: Emphasising what really matters
Workforce health and safety provide the foundation of organisational performance. Employees cannot perform, adapt, or innovate if they are injured or unwell, or if they feel unsafe at work. Yet, despite the pandemic ending just three years ago, health-related risks and the importance of preventive actions appear to be receding from view — overshadowed by more immediate concerns such as cyber threats, AI disruption, and geopolitical instability.
Report FAQs
The People Risk 2026 report is a critical resource for risk professionals, including anyone involved in a HR function in their organisation and with responsibility for managing business and people-related risks. It is an essential resource for those involved in the growth and success of their business and helps inform decision-making when prioritising and mitigating workforce-related risks.
The People Risk 2026 report is a resource for risk and HR professionals with responsibility for managing business and people-related risks. It is of relevance to HR buyers in functions related to risk, finance, AI, cyber, ERM, safety and health, resilience, and security, as well as those in more traditional claims, insurance, HR, benefits, total rewards, well-being, and compensation roles related to managing people risks.
This report equips risk and HR functions with actionable insights to navigate current and future uncertainties for 12 industries across regions and markets. Key industries include communications, media and technology, construction and real estate, consumer goods, energy and renewables, financial services, healthcare, higher education, life sciences, manufacturing, professional services, public sector/government, and retail/wholesale.
- Conduct a cross-functional risk review: Bring together risk, HR, technology and operational leaders to review the insights and collectively determine the top people risks for your organisation.
- Quickly assess risk maturity and gaps: Consider your organisation's risk maturity for each of the five pillars of risk and identify gaps or ineffective mitigations that leave your organisation and workforce exposed.
- Fix major risks and turn them into strengths: Work with internal or external experts to manage key, complex risks, using the research to transform risk into strategic advantage for your organisation.
You may download the global People Risk 2026 Report here.
