12th September 2024
How Leaders Can Address Financial Stress and Its Impact on Employee Wellbeing
Financial stress is significantly affecting employees’ wellbeing and productivity, with many struggling to afford necessities like rent and groceries. This anxiety impacts focus, causing absenteeism and presenteeism. HR professionals recognise the need for better financial wellness support, with benefits, education, and workplace flexibility becoming crucial for improving employees’ overall wellbeing and job performance.
This article was written by Cloey Callahan and published in Worklife.
Employees continue to face financial anxiety over basic necessities. Grocery bills are growing higher, rent is barely affordable and there’s little money left over to spend on things you actually enjoy.
Many can’t even consider buying nice-to-haves when it’s hard to secure need-to-haves. WorkLife previously reported on how a six-figure salary was once celebrated, but now it’s expected. And now workers are dealing with the impacts of vanishing annual cost of living increases that range between 2 and 5% of your salary to take inflation into account.
Workers are saying they need more money, or at least better benefits to make up for the lack of salary increases that help them live comfortably.
Financial wellness platform ZayZoon’s 2024 State of Employee Wellness Report revealed that 73% of the 5,000 employees surveyed said that their biggest financial concerns are necessities, including bills, rent, and groceries. It also found more than half of employees feel this anxiety daily, impacting their ability to focus on work. Of the 500 HR professionals interviewed, they say that employee financial health has the most impact on employee focus.
“It’s not surprising, but it’s sobering,” said Tate Hackert, president and co-founder of ZayZoon.
Over 61% of HR professionals noted that employees live paycheck to paycheck, with significant numbers facing eviction, medical costs, wage garnishment, bankruptcy and other strenuous financial challenges. 58% of employees have no savings for unexpected expenses and 71% have poor to fair credit scores, exacerbating their financial woes and stress.
That financial pain can no longer be ignored, especially considering its impact on how these employees show up to the workplace. Fifty percent of surveyed employees experience financial stress daily, which employees and HR professionals alike noted negatively impacts employee focus, morale, and overall work quality. Fifty-two percent of surveyed employees stated that they are stressed about their finances daily or multiple times per day.
Read the article in full here: What can leaders do when financial stress turns into overall well-being stress?
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