With rising inflation having a ripple effect on all aspects of our financial health and personal lives here in the UK, financial wellbeing is now more important than ever.
Before we take a deep dive into some resources that will help your team navigate this tricky time, let’s debunk a common myth: many people believe that the financial wellbeing of employees is not an employer’s responsibility.
This is in fact, false. Recent research found that 38 productive days per employee were lost due to absence and presenteeism, and this increases by more than double for employees with financial concerns.
Happy employees lead to successful teams, less stressful environments and an increase in productivity. It’s clear that financial wellbeing is one of the biggest threats to employee wellness this year. And with everyday life getting more expensive, it’s no wonder that 59% of workers feel stressed about money.
Read on for some financial wellness resources for employees, and tips on how to approach those hard conversations around money.
But first, how is employee happiness impacted by financial stress?
It’s no secret that finance has an important role to play in our everyday lives: it controls what we have for lunch, how much fun we have after work to achieve a sense of work-life balance and our sense of confidence.
It is also one of The Seven Dimensions of Wellness which means that if our financial wellbeing is out of balance, it will have a ripple effect on our physical, mental, occupational, relational, spiritual and recreational wellbeing.
With the current rollercoaster economy workers have had to adjust to, the outlook for personal finances is worrying. Unsurprisingly, this can and will have a huge impact on an employee’s happiness at work. After all, can you really concentrate on those urgent priorities if you are facing financial difficulties and can’t sleep at night?
Our Wellness Report found that 21% of employees have lost their motivation at work due to financial stress, and 18% said that stress around money had them seeking a better paid job, so if you’ve been looking for a sign to start those hard conversations around finance, and how you can help as an employer now is a better time than ever– especially if you want to retain your awesome team.
A key finding in our Wellness at Work report.
How do you approach a sensitive discussion?
We get that finance is often one of the trickiest conversations to have. Money remains to be a taboo topic– especially in the workplace. In fact, our wellness report found that only 36% of workers are comfortable to initiate a discussion around personal finances, showing that it can be uncomfortable and worrisome to discuss money worries with friends and family, let alone colleagues and line managers.
To deal with this challenge, the CIPD has a helpful Talk Money week, which encourages people to open up about their finances during the month of November. You don’t need to wait until then to start the conversation, check out their helpful tips for navigating these discussions all year round.
How do you design a financial wellbeing programme?
An effective financial wellbeing programme should consider all aspects of your workforce.
Each and every employee should be taken into consideration regardless of their seniority and current salary. After all, financial difficulty can sneak its way in through all kinds of gaps and creaks– and impact our wellbeing in the workplace.
Things to consider include:
1. Offering a variety of discounts
Giving employees access to discounts on things that they can use every day is a great way to ease off some financial stress.
These discounts could be in the form of things such as items for use around the home, gym memberships or food delivery.
You could also subsidise digital health resources to help teams manage their stress levels. Therapeutic apps such as Calm often have a business subscription service. Should your team be adopting a remote first approach, you should also consider offering online exercises classes which they can access at any time through apps such as FitOn.
At Employment Hero we’re proud of the Hero Points scheme that was introduced in order to help small businesses go the extra mile and provide their teams access to discounts that they otherwise would not receive. It truly is strength in numbers.
2. Offer matching pension contributions
With rising bills, it can be challenging to think about the future, but it shouldn’t stop us from considering our pensions. Here in the UK, the employer must at minimum match an employee’s pension contribution by at least 8%. However, many businesses often choose to opt for a matching pension contribution scheme.
Interested in finding out how generous other businesses in your industry are? Check out this handy guide by Profile Pensions.
3. Offer access to free or discounted financial advice
With money being a taboo topic, it’s no wonder that almost a third of UK adults haven’t consulted regulated financial advice before.
To bridge the gap between access to financial education, and support your employees, consider providing your team financial advice from a verified expert for free or at a discounted rate.
4. Share free financial resources
There are also plenty of free resources available to share with your team to help them grow their financial knowledge.
Moneyhelper.org is the UK’s government-supported source for information about personal finance. On their website, your team can find resources around savings, pensions, family finances, tax returns, debt relief and much more. Their popular tools include budget planners and mortgage calculators.
You can help your team find these resources by sharing helpful links in team meetings or company newsletters. Sharing these verified resources alongside your favourite general money-saving hacks or tips can be a great way to open up the money conversation and show your team you care.
Learn more about employees and financial health
Supporting employees with their financial health is essential in 2024, and we have the insights to help you do it.
Our 2022 Wellness at Work report uncovers helpful information about financial wellness in the workplace, including what British employees want from their employees, perceptions of fair pay, and the greater impacts of financial stress at work.
It’s essential reading for any employer, download your free copy of the report now.
