New research has found that 39% of employees believe the current state of their finances negatively impacts their mental health.
Conducted in collaboration with business wellbeing specialists Robertson Cooper, Aviva’s report Thriving in the age of ambiguity: building resilience for the new realities of work explored how employees’ relationship with finances, work and hopes for the future have evolved as they adapt to the ambiguity caused by the last 12 to 18 months.
More than a quarter (29%) of respondents revealed that they had to borrow money to replace lost income, while 30% are concerned their money will run out. A total of 60% feel their financial situation controls their lives.
The research also found that more than two-thirds (68%) of employees with poor financial wellbeing think they are organised with their money, and 64% said they always try to minimise debt. Financial factors only accounted for half (51%) of someone’s sense of financial wellbeing according to the study, with the rest driven by other factors such as personality type.
The report also highlighted that those who suffer from poor financial wellbeing do not necessarily think of themselves as bad with money, which Aviva said challenges the stereotype that money worries arise from disorganisation or knowledge gaps.
Laura Stewart-Smith, head of workplace savings and retirement at Aviva, commented that the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) experience has fundamentally altered relationships with money, work and health, and that the report shows many trends which have been gathering pace in recent years, as new preferences emerge to shape the way employees work, feel, think and plan ahead.
She said: “Financial confidence can have a tremendous impact on mental health and personality type has a huge influence on behaviour and mindset too. Greater support is vital for employees to thrive in an increasingly ambiguous financial environment. We believe there is a crucial role that employers can play in facilitating this.”
