The 2026 CXO Personal Wellbeing Report

Executive Summary Resilient under pressure. ~92% of CXOs report strong wellbeing and high energy despite sustained stress and long hours.

Endurance over recovery. 9–11 hour workdays are common; energy remains stable, but sleep and recovery are compromised.

Blurred work boundaries. Saturdays often extend the workweek, and even leave days don’t ensure full disconnection.

Unpredictability drives stress. ~80% follow structured or semi-structured routines, yet two-fifths cite disruptions and crisis-driven demands as key stressors.

Work spills over. Leaders remain mentally engaged beyond office hours, often appearing preoccupied at home.

Habits improve outcomes. Exercise and mindfulness reduce stress but tend to drop under sustained pressure.

Lifestyle shapes energy. Consistent meals support stability, while high screen time shortens sleep.

Support underutilised. While ~50% express comfort seeking support, few access professional mental health services.

Organisational gaps remain. Most CXOs find wellbeing support inadequate and want more targeted, flexible programs.

. Chapter 1: Introduction & Key Findings Personal wellbeing plays a critical role in leadership effectiveness, yet it is rarely examined with the same rigour as performance or strategy. IMA’s 2026 CXO Personal Wellness Survey was designed to understand how CXOs are managing their energy, stress, recovery, boundaries and inner wellbeing amid sustained work intensity.

Some of the key themes examined included work structures, lifestyle and sleep habits, downtime, sources of stress and the adequacy of organisational support. The survey collected responses from ~300 CXOs across designations and age groups.

Across most indicators, CXOs report strong overall wellbeing and high levels of functioning. Surprisingly, the results varied relatively little across roles, age groups or even by gender. This is encouraging but it also raises an important question: Are today’s CXOs genuinely thriving, or simply highly adapted to operating under constant intensity? The report surfaces a clear pattern: leaders who maintain structured habits around exercise, sleep, meals and mindfulness consistently report better outcomes. However, these relationships are correlational, not causal. The findings should therefore be read as a practical map of what leaders associate with sustained energy and resilience and where organisational environments continue to fall short.

. Chapter 2: Leadership Wellbeing Landscape CXO wellbeing is broadly positive, though long working hours are common and Saturdays often extend the workweek, while Sundays remain largely protected. Stress and burnout decline with age, with women reporting higher strain but stronger boundary-setting.

. Baseline Assessment . Leadership Stamina . Work Intensity . Perceived Stress Load . Chapter 3: Daily Behaviours and Trade-offs . Core Routines for Balance . Lifestyle Hygiene Factors . Sleep links directly to energy 71% of CXOs sleep six hours or more, though nearly half of female CXOs and one in four male CXOs get under six hours. Over 40% of those sleeping seven hours or more report consistently high energy.

. Exercise frequency 78% of CXOs exercise at least 3x a week, especially CEOs and those over 60. Those with ‘Very Good’ wellbeing are far more likely (88%) to work out regularly.

. Nutrition regularity & quality . Screen time . Recovery & Downtime . Frequency and nature of downtime . Recovery and recharge . Trade-offs Under Pressure . Chapter 4: Inner Practices, Mental Hygiene and Resilience . Impact of Work Intensity . Mental Health Support . Chapter 5: Stress . Chapter 6: Organisational Support . Chapter 7: Reflection, Learning and Forward Priorities . Recommendations and Way Forward Based on these findings, CXOs would be well placed to:

Move from relying primarily on endurance to taking more intentional ownership of their personal wellbeing. This requires treating recovery, sleep and energy management as leadership essentials rather than discretionary choices, and protecting them even during periods of high intensity.

Leaders need to also set clearer boundaries around weekends, leave and digital engagement.

They should actively reduce unpredictability where possible through delegation, prioritisation and buffer creation.

Practices such as exercise and mindfulness need to be sustained consistently, especially under pressure, rather than being viewed as optional items that are the first to be dropped.

At the same time, CXOs should normalise seeking professional support when needed and use their seniority to signal that wellbeing is a legitimate leadership concern.

. If there is one clear takeaway, it is this: At the end of the day, sustained personal wellbeing depends on shifting from short-term coping to more deliberate, sustainable ways of working that can be maintained over the long term.