Best Information about Financial Wellness Employee Benefits
Financial issues are loading today’s workforce with an undue burden of stress and worry. In fact, money is the leading cause of stress among Americans today. The growing complexity of the economic environment coupled with a widespread lack of financial education have led many people into money problems that, in turn, contribute to distraction and lost productivity at work.
In response, many organizations are evaluating financial wellness employee benefits. What can an employer gain from offering workplace financial education? Although the answer will be unique to the organization and each individual employee, promoting a worker financial wellness program has great potential for positive outcomes on both employee performance and the company’s bottom line.
What is the Problem that Calls for Financial Wellness Programs to Reduce Employee Stress?
With so many people facing stressful personal finance challenges today, it’s hardly surprising that they bring those worries with them to work. Considering how many Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck, are unprepared to meet an unexpected expense of merely $400, and lack workable budgets, it’s easy to see why workers have difficulty saving for retirement – or even just for a rainy day. And our current “spend economy” certainly doesn’t help. The constant pressures and temptations to spend money just serve to exacerbate the problems.
When employees face financial stress, the employer suffers too. A workforce constantly worried about money problems is less productive, less engaged, and more likely to miss work. The impact of stress extends to employees’ physical and mental health and in turn affects their work performance. Higher rates of stress-related illness can increase the company’s costs to provide health insurance plans. That’s where financial wellness programs to reduce employee stress come into play.
Financial Wellness Employee Benefits for Both Workers and the Company
An organization that offers financial wellness employee benefits creates advantages on both sides of the coin. For employees, increased financial health leads to greater satisfaction with their jobs, higher productivity, and heightened performance and engagement. Reduced stress has positive effect on people’s physical and mental wellbeing, so lower absenteeism is another probable result. Money management and financial wellness training also helps employees make informed decisions about company-sponsored health, life, disability, and retirement plans.
For employers, higher productivity clearly has powerful positive impact. Additional results of financial wellness programs to reduce employee stress include reduced healthcare costs, morale boosts, and increased camaraderie and engagement. Workers feel more loyal to the firm when they perceive that their employer truly cares about their welfare. And the return on investment for workplace financial wellness programs can be quite promising, estimated at $1 – $3 in some studies.
Financial Wellness Employee Benefits: Best Practices
Many various solutions exist to offer financial wellness employee benefits, but some best practices among financial wellness providers have emerged to guide the decision between options. First, companies should assess where their employees currently stand in terms of money management knowledge. They might conduct surveys or introduce brief pilot programs to establish a baseline. The CFPB has developed a scale to measure financial wellness levels. Then they could test out various approaches for content and delivery to determine optimal methods for their unique environments.
Delivery options for a personal finance seminar or program may include in-person workshops, online instruction, individual counseling sessions, or some combination thereof. Programs led by well-qualified instructors have proven to yield best results. Resources founded in research-based educational methods, with lessons that have practical application to real-world situations, are most effective at improving employee financial capabilities. Top-quality eLearning and gamification also indicate positive results.