Financial wellbeing and mental health are intrinsically linked. Employees with poor mental health are likely to be more heavily impacted by financial worries and less likely to make sound financial decisions. The risk is that both their financial situation and mental health can worsen. Read on to explore the employee benefits that can help alleviate financial pressures during the cost-of-living crisis, enhancing mental health or wealth.
What do we mean by ‘mental wealth’?
Mental Wealth is a combination of mental health balanced with support, wellbeing, fitness, health, nutrition, and diet. Mike Pagan
Many elements make up our mental wealth. Whilst Mike Pagan doesn’t mention finances, research shows a strong connection between financial wellbeing, stress, and the impact on our mental health and wellbeing.
Money worries can lead to poor mental health, negatively impacting our mental wealth.
Exclusive research
We interviewed over 2,000 employees and 500 HR professionals as part of our Money Mastery research. Here are some of our findings:
- 48% of employees rated their financial wellbeing as average, poor, or very poor.
- 73% said this created more stress.
- 57% said they had poor mental wellbeing.
- 37% said they had less confidence in their personal lives.
These results show a clear link to Pagan’s definition of mental wealth.
His definition includes fitness, health, and nutrition as elements that contribute to our mental wealth, and our financial wellbeing impacts these, too.
At the peak of the cost-of-living crisis, 42% of Brits cancelled their gym memberships to cut back and improve their financial situation.
Recent research by PureGym for 2023/2024 shows a 2% increase in gym membership uptake compared to last year, but 54% of Brits say they don’t have a gym membership because they’re too expensive. 33% say they have an alternative way of getting fit, with the remainder giving various reasons for not regularly exercising.
Making exercise more affordable would encourage more Brits to return to the gym, nurturing healthier lifestyles and giving them an outlet to release stress.
Brighter lives for your employees
So, how can we improve financial wellbeing in the workplace?
When exploring ways of supporting employee financial wellbeing, it’s essential to consider different demographics.
25-34-year-olds are more likely to feel stressed about their financial situation than their older colleagues (HR Review).
There could be up to five generations working within your business, and the day-to-day support they need will be different. Some may be struggling with problem debt and need debt advice, others may be interested in knowing more about pension services, some may crave products and services that stretch their money further in the long term, and many employees may desire all of this.
Meeting the needs of every employee with an inclusive financial wellbeing solution may seem like a tall order, but your employee benefit package can tick all the boxes.
Here’s how…
Supporting employees in debt…
We discussed supporting employees in debt during Debt Awareness Week in March, and you can take a deep dive into the topic here – Debt Awareness Week: Supporting Employees in Debt.
Debt is a cycle – one often leads to another, and before we know it, we have multiple creditors chasing for payments we can’t meet. Employees struggling with debt will be more stressed, negatively impacting their mental health and depleting their mental wealth.
Our Financial Wellbeing App enables employees to combine their debts into manageable repayments by offering a Debt Consolidation solution.
Saving for the future…
You can even use it to help your people plan for the future, saving alongside their loan or deducting the loan repayment amount once they’ve repaid it. Instead of the money paying off the loan, they’ll be building a nest egg for the future.
Making life more affordable…
When you help employees stretch their salaries, making the things they want and need more affordable, you’re helping them fill their happiness and wellbeing ‘pot’ - especially if it helps them eat better and make healthier choices.
Our Employee Discounts Platform improves employee financial wellbeing by making day-to-day living more affordable during the cost-of-living crisis and beyond. We partner with a vast range of retailers, reducing the cost of the weekly shop, meals out, fitness equipment, wellbeing retreats and more.
Our Pluxee Card makes life a little brighter by giving your employees the opportunity to earn up to 15% cashback whenever they use their Pluxee Card to purchase goods online or in-store with one of our partnering retailers. It’s also available as a virtual-only solution – a faster, greener, leaner and more secure cashback solution.
When employees have the resources to enjoy what life has to offer without creating money worries, you’re enhancing their health, happiness and overall wellbeing
Making fitness affordable…
Our fitness and physical health form part of our overall mental wealth, yet 54% of Brits can’t justify or afford the cost of joining a gym. We partner with over 3,000 gyms, studios, fitness centres, boot camps and sports clubs across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, as well as a vast range of digital fitness providers, making a healthier lifestyle more affordable.
Mental health support…
Exercise reduces cortisol levels, helping combat stress, but there are times when employees will need support with their mental wellbeing. Whether they utilise the self-help tools available within our EAP App or require counselling through our Employee Assistance Programme, ensuring you support your employees during the trials life may bring - financial concerns and more - is an invaluable way to provide effective mental health support
A world of opportunities for your business
Employees experiencing money worries cost the UK economy £120 billion and 17.5 million lost work hours.
By creating a brighter tomorrow, alleviating employee money worries, and enhancing their financial wellbeing, we can boost their mental wealth, creating happier, healthier, and more engaged employees.
There’s no one-fits-all solution, but there are inclusive, sustainable, and cost-effective ways to tick all the boxes, supporting the varying financial wellbeing needs of your people. For your business, this means less employee stress, fewer unplanned absences, and a more productive workforce.
Enhance your employees’ mental wealth, create a brighter tomorrow for your people and open up a world of opportunities for your business. Request a call with one of our employee engagement consultants today.
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