We’ve all heard of offering wellness programs that include things such as weight loss programs, stress management, or gym memberships. We know that when employees participate in these programs it can lead to improved health, higher productivity, better morale, lower stress levels and many more benefits for the employee and the employer. A wellness benefit that isn’t discussed quite so often is financial wellness.
60% of Americans are stressed about money. That means 60% of your employees are stressed about money. Employees bring their stress from home to work. This impacts their productivity at work. Stressed employees are distracted and more susceptible to employee turnover. Stressed employees have a tendency to have higher blood pressure, and this affects their physical well-being as well.
Employees think they need to make more money to solve their money problems. This leads to higher turnover as they look for a bigger paycheck. A bigger paycheck only solves the symptom. Unless employees learn to better manage their money a bigger paycheck will only lead to bigger debt and higher levels of stress. According to a survey in June by PYMNTS and LendingClub, which analyzed economic data and census-balanced surveys of over 28,000 Americans, about 54% of those surveyed live paycheck to paycheck. And nearly 40% of those making more than $100,000 annually live paycheck to paycheck. A higher salary isn’t the answer. Learning to manage money and improving financial wellness is the answer.
According to Tom Rath and Jim Harter – leaders in workplace wellbeing research at Gallup – financial wellness is “effectively managing your economic life.” This concept includes the following factors: living below one’s means, having a plan for financial emergencies, being able to make good financial decisions, and having a plan for the future, e.g., retirement.
When business owners and employers offer benefits that impact the employee as a whole, employees feel that their company cares about them as people and not just as employees. This is another reason that will encourage employees to stay with a company.
Do you want to learn more about financial wellness programs for your employees? Silberman Group can help with that.
Jennifer Webster SHRM-CP: Human Resource Advisor
