- Tags
- financial wellbeing, mental health
- Date
- 21, JUN 2023
Improving your employees’ financial health
Blog
Looking after your employees’ wellbeing is an important step towards helping them achieve a happy and healthy life. However, there are many aspects to achieving good wellbeing, and reducing stress is one of them. One area which causes people high levels of stress, especially in the current financial climate, is money. When an employee is financially stressed, it can have an impact on their mental health and day to day lives. This means their work could be affected too.
What is financial wellbeing and how is it linked to mental health?
Financial wellbeing is about feeling and being in control of your finances. If your employees are waking up in the morning and instantly worrying about money, the impact on their day could be significant. Helping employees to take control of their finances will reduce stress and improve both their mental and financial wellbeing.
But why is this important? 86% of respondents to a Money and Mental Health survey who had experience of mental health problems said that their financial situation had made their mental health problems worse. As well, more than a fifth of adults in Great Britain reported borrowing more money or using more credit because of the increased cost of living between 25 January and 5 February 2023.
It’s clear that money worries can affect anyone, causing a host of wellbeing issues from lack of sleep, stress and lack of concentration at work. So, what can you do as an employer to improve the financial wellbeing of your employees?
Introduce a financial wellbeing programme
As every organisation is different, no wellbeing programme is the same. They can be as basic or comprehensive as you need or want and could offer a different level of support from helping with debt issues, budgeting, investments or savings, the choice really is yours.
Get people talking
Breaking the taboo and getting people talking about money will help those who may be struggling. In the world we live in, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed with finances at times. By removing the stigma, you can also take away some of the pressure which employees may be feeling.
Empower employees
Giving employees easy to understand and engaging information will enable them to make better informed decisions, which are relevant to their own financial situation. Having these resources available will only encourage employees to come forward and talk about their financial health.
Run an employee forum
Making it easy for employees is key to getting them to talk about their finances. Providing a forum for them to discuss any issues in a confidential setting can help kick start that initial conversation. It can be an official meeting or a chat over a cup of tea, make it as formal or informal as suits.
There are many things that can cause people stress, but financial problems don’t have to be one of them. That’s why we have created The Centre of Financial Wellbeing Excellence. We understand the pressures HR departments are under, that’s why our platform is the ultimate place where HR professionals can access everything they need to start and run a successful financial wellbeing programme – all completely free!
We’ve broken down a variety of topics into bitesize videos, delivered by professionals who are experts in their field. To find out more click here, or contact us today.
This blog is for general information only and does not constitute advice. Information correct at time of publishing, 7th June 2023.
Secondsight is a trading name of Foster Denovo Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Sources:
https://www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/money-and-mental-health-facts/