While financial wellness might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of employee wellbeing, it plays a significant role. In this guest article from financial consultant Vanya Reyes, you’ll discover why financial wellness is important and three ways you can incorporate it at your organization.
Financial stress is at an all-time high due to the global health crisis, and this holds true for both employees and employers alike. While many employers are trying to find ways for their business to stay afloat, it’s also more important than ever that they find ways to provide employees with financial assistance. Providing this much-needed aid can help boost employee morale, and perhaps even increase productivity.
Of course, looking out for your employees’ financial wellness is a difficult task to undertake, especially in the midst of such turbulent times.
That’s why we’ve compiled an overview of why providing financial assistance for employees is important and three actionable tips to help you do so.
The Importance of Financial Wellness
It goes without saying that stressed employees end up negatively impacting an organization. On that note, financial worries are the biggest source of stress for today’s employees. It’s not that people don’t want to be financially healthy, but that it can be difficult to manage an emergency fund and save for retirement with so many other, more urgent needs to be met (like rent and bills).
Financial wellbeing also has an impact on employees’ mental health, which has become a top priority nowadays. Employers need to remember that looking after mental health isn’t just about offering days off or flexible work hours. Instead of having your employees seek out financial advisors for help — which is a good option, but one that isn’t always feasible — providing this support at work helps make the journey towards financial wellness more accessible for your team.
3 Ways to Start Prioritizing Financial Wellness at Work
With all this in mind, it’s easy to see how there’s a lot to gain for both businesses and leaders when they support their employees’ financial wellbeing. Below, we’ve listed 3 initiatives that business leaders can consider.
1. Creating a Program with Saving Targets
A recent survey by the Secure Retirement Institute found that over 48 percent of Americans have just enough savings to cover three months of basic expenses.
This is a dangerous statistic, considering that more people are filing for unemployment with each passing week.
Establishing a savings program is a really simple way to increase your employee’s financial well-being. Programs needn’t be expensive or complicated, as the simple act of offering split direct-deposit paychecks, low-interest loans, or even opening up investments can do wonders for your employees.
On the other hand, split-deposit paychecks will allow employees to automatically deposit money into their savings account for a more long-term solution. Additionally, providing employees with the financial literacy skills they need to plan ahead is also very important.
Discussing things like personal loans is a very important variable to consider for families that are struggling due to the pandemic. Your standard low-interest personal loan options work by giving people set time frames to pay the money back, which can be useful for employees who just need a quick boost.
This is even more important right now while lots of families in the US are living on the breadline. Overall, the key is to present a wide range of opportunities to help your employees find what works best for them.
2. Encouraging Employees to Continue Making Retirement Contributions
Speaking of building up savings, you should also be encouraging employees to think about their retirement.
You can enroll your employees in automatic plans that help them put their money aside. Some retirement plans also increase the amount of savings at certain intervals, which can give your team more incentive to start early.
Remember to tailor your communications accordingly: for employees 50 and above, you can start discussing catch-up contributions as an avenue worth exploring.
Younger employees will benefit from matching contribution plans, as this proves that your company cares for their long-term well-being.
3. Offering Financial Wellness Seminars
Lastly, you should also consider investing in wellness seminars for your team.
This can be done either by subscribing to a webinar that employees can access or else inviting speakers to come talk (virtually) to your team.
Since navigating finances can be an extremely personal issue to some, seminars help provide employees with the information they need while allowing them to use that information as they wish.
Before signing your team up for a seminar, you might want to consider hosting a one-off financial wellness class to start and gauge interest from there.
When it comes to managing remote workers, looking after their mental health is key. Taking care of your employees’ financial wellness is a great way to do so.
To further drive the company into success, business leaders should also be keen on helping their employees with their financial wellness. You can do this through various programs that can enhance employees’ financial intelligence and encourage long-term savings.
In distressing times such as now, these kinds of initiatives show that you truly care about your employees — inspiring them to perform at their best and stay loyal to the company.
Learn More About How Virtual Team Building, Training, and Coaching Solutions Can Help Boost Employee Wellbeing
For more information about how you can help boost employee morale and wellbeing with virtual team building, training, or coaching solutions, reach out to our Employee Engagement Consultants.
Author Bio:
Vanya Reyes – Financial Consultant
Vanya Reyes is a financial consultant and aspiring finance blogger. Equipped with over 15 years in the industry, and with more than eight awards in her field, she aims to share her knowledge to help the youth today make better financial decisions.
