The solutions behind the Financial Wellbeing statistics

For some time now financial wellbeing has been on the agenda of many HR professionals and for good reasons. There are so many statistics out there which highlight the importance surrounding it, here are just a few:

37% of people voted financial problems (money troubles/worries, debt, mortgage/rent) as the main cause of stress outside of the workplace.¹
56% of people spend more than 3 hours per week at work dealing with personal finances.²
14.7% employees encounter mental health issues in the workplace.³

With so much research and statistics out there about financial wellbeing and the impact this can have on your employees, it can leave employers feeling overwhelmed and not knowing where to start. And, with so many options out there, how are employers supposed to know what the best options for their employees are? In our recent blogs and articles, we have covered a host of information surrounding this but to help employers get going in the right direction, here is a summary of what we think is the most important.

Get rid of the stigma

Break down those barriers, put up the posters and make talking about finances part of your office lingo – create an open culture. Encouraging everyone to talk about it will help raise awareness across your whole organisation.

Empower employees

Giving employees easy to understand, engaging information will enable them to make better informed decisions relevant to their own financial situation. Having these resources available will only encourage employees to come forward and talk about their financial health; knowledge is power after all. This could be done via regular group presentations, a financial education programme, one to one sessions and/or educational online wellbeing portals.

Approach professionals with care

If you choose to enlist the help of a financial wellbeing professional, check out their business model beforehand. Ensure their objectives are primarily focused on benefiting your employees and not their product sales targets.

Educate

Educating employees on the importance of financial planning is important to improving their overall financial wellbeing. A financial plan can provide your employees with a level of financial understanding to help them make better financial decisions, ensure they are financially prepared and help them to identify and reach their life goals.

Encourage starting an emergency fund

An emergency fund is an amount of money set aside in case an unexpected financial emergency arises – usually three to six months’ salary in savings. Building an emergency fund might be challenging to begin with but being able to use this money when faced with unforeseen circumstances can significantly reduce financial stress. Just having this money in the bank can go some way to help employees feel more financially prepared, avoiding the temptation of credit cards and loans. You can help your employees by raising awareness and communicating the importance of having a fund like this.

It may seem like there is a long list of things you need to do to see any improvement in the financial wellbeing of employees. But remember, just applying one of these areas could help some employees. There are also free resources out there which can support you such as The Money Advice Service or, if you have budget, there are advisors and professionals who can guide you in providing the best support to your employees and business.

Secondsight offers a variety of tools and resources around financial wellbeing. To find out how we can support you and your business, contact us today.

Information correct as of 03/11/2023

Secondsight is a trading name of Foster Denovo Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The solutions behind the Financial Wellbeing statistics

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