Financial stress is top of mind for the majority of American workers, and it’s impacting them on the job. Eighty-two percent of workers are thinking about their finances at work, according to a recent study from software company Ceridian, cited in BenefitsPro. Their financial stress costs employers $664 billion in lost productivity, and that number is estimated to increase unless employers intervene.
Additional financial stress stats from PwC find that:
- 49% of employees say they’re having difficulty meeting their monthly household expenses on time, up from 41% in 2022
- 44% of employees carrying credit card balances say they struggle to make minimum payments on time each month
- 28% report they often or always run out of money between paychecks
- 56% of employees report financial worries have negatively impacted their sleep; 55% say money stress has negatively impacted their mental health; and 44% say they’re feeling a negative impact on their physical health
- 73% of employees say they would be attracted to an employer that cares about their financial well-being; employees who are struggling financially are twice as likely to be looking for a new job
Ana Mahony, CEO of financial wellness platform Addition Wealth, was quoted in the BenefitsPro article. She spotlighted three financial wellness trends employers should be aware of in 2023, and suggested solutions to address them:
- Debt will weigh heavily on employee mental health. Money stress isn’t compartmentalized. That means employees are thinking about their finances while at work. Mahony recommends employers take advantage of financial wellness platforms the same way they’ve offered other wellness support for mental health, or fertility and family planning benefits. Depending on the offering, employees can benefit from financial wellness platforms that provide them access to help them make more informed decisions about their personal finances, including maximizing 401(k) contributions and selecting benefits.
- Modern work requires new types of financial education. The rise of an increasingly remote workforce means old ways of delivering financial advice and help simply aren’t effective anymore, according to Mahony. Employers may get questions they don’t expect, either, such as how does remote work impact an employee’s taxes and how much employees should budget for healthcare if they’re contractor or gig worker.
- People want personalized support, but it’s still out of reach for most. According to Addition Wealth, 87% of people still want some kind of personalized financial wellness benefit. The platform sees a 70% engagement rate with its partner companies, making it an opportunity worthy of employers’ consideration.
Financial wellness is more important than ever as economic and geopolitical uncertainty persists and employees struggle with pervasive money stress. This could be a pivotal year for employers to embrace financial wellness platforms that can not only improve recruiting and retention, but also help workers make more informed, more confident decisions about their finances, providing them peace of mind and enhancing their productivity on the job.
