It’s important that businesses seriously consider the overall wellness of their employees. In addition to physical health, the best employers are supporting their workforce with their financial health as well, with workplace financial wellness programs.
According to a 2018 Employee Financial Wellness Survey, many workers are concerned about their economic well-being:
– Over 50% of employees don’t have enough emergency savings.
– One-third of workers finds it difficult to meet their monthly household expenses.
– Nearly 50% consistently carry credit card balances.
– Roughly half of all employees find dealing with their financial situation stressful.
– Almost 40% estimate they spend three hours or more thinking about or dealing with personal finances issues at work.
Employers are in an outstanding position to assist their people! Through a comprehensive education program, employers can provide life-changing financial literacy training, help employees to improve their situation, and benefit from these improvements as an organization.
Benefits for Employees
There are 8 reasons your company needs to offer financial education to employees, aka Workplace Financial Wellness.
- Knowing even the basics of finance and money can improve an individual’s decision-making capabilities and increase confidence of employees.
- Learning about benefits programs available can increase utilization, participation, and maximize employee compensation throughout their tenure at work.
- Improving debt management and learning ways to improve savings increases financial security and reduces stress for employees.
Benefit for Employers
- Financial education is a benefit that can increase loyalty, improve retention, and help an organization with workforce planning.
- Reducing financial stress and insecurity among employees improves focus and productivity while on the job.
- Financial literacy training helps employers manage risk of liability and support employees with sufficient information to make decisions about retirement plans and other benefits.
Benefits for Community
- Financially secure people don’t just feel better about the present; they are also able to afford and plan for their later life. This outlook is good for the economy and the community and can result from employer-assisted financial education.
- Employees that can get their finances in order have their minds freed from money-related anxiety and stress. Feeling better about life often helps people get more engaged in the community, schools, and the neighborhood.
It’s a new era to include financial literacy training as part of a company’s employee assistance program. Budgeting, money management, retirement, financial planning, debt reduction, and much more are available to assist employees in better understanding and managing their money and their life.
Considering a Workplace Financial Wellness program with group financial literacy workshops, one-on-one financial training, or a combination of both for employees, is a decision companies won’t regret it. Look for local, proven financial literacy experts and programs to help get you started!
