Financial wellbeing is a significant component of overall wellbeing, defined as feeling safe, secure and in control of finances. Not feeling financially secure can cause a huge amount of anxiety and stress for employees, which can negatively impact overall productivity and performance, which is why it is so important for employers to support financial wellbeing within their organisation.
November 9th – 12th is the Money & Pensions Service’s Talk Money Week, which aims to reduce the stigma around money by encouraging conversations among families, friends, neighbours, customers, colleagues and communities.
Employers are uniquely positioned to support their employees with guidance at the times they most need it, with most employees believing there is a role for employers in supporting their personal financial wellbeing. However, only one in five are satisfied with the efforts their employer makes to help them manage their finances.
Money can be an uncomfortable workplace subject, especially for the British where it is a particularly taboo topic point, so we have compiled some tips for employers to help alleviate financial pressures from employees.
Take stock of financial wellbeing within the workplace
Sending out an anonymous survey to employees will give employers an indication of financial health within their workforce. This also gives employees an opportunity to confidentially highlight any areas that they may be struggling and the kind of support that they need.
Benefits packages
Ensure your benefits package has financial wellbeing support, and make sure this is well advertised. Wrkit’s Lifestyle Savings offering gives employees access to discounts on both leisure, such as shopping, and essential expenditure, such as fuel.
It is crucial that employees know how their benefits package can help them out financially, otherwise they won’t take full advantage of it.
Financial education
Educate employees about finance. This could be by implementing a financial wellness programme or learning module to help employees budget better, understand the importance of emergency savings, educate them on debt or plan for retirement.
Enlist expert support
Bring in varying personal financial experts to talk about topics such as the basics of investing. This will give employees invaluable extra insight into the world of finance and help them to feel more confident and comfortable in managing their money.
In addition, experts can offer financial counselling services or resources for those who need them. This will help employees be more prepared for any emergencies or setbacks that arise.
Be sensitive
The past year especially has been financially challenging for many people. By being aware of and sensitive to this, employers can improve financial education, financial health and overall wellbeing.
According to Neyber, a quarter of workers have lost sleep over money worries, 59% say that financial troubles prevent them from performing their best and 46% say pressures affect their relationship with their manager. The research also found that poor financial wellbeing costs the UK economy £120 billion and 17.5 million lost hours of work.
Request a demo of Wrkit today, and don’t let low financial health negatively impact your workforce and business.