New research from WEALTH at work[1] has revealed that many full-time workers admit that money worries are impacting their work, with 23% struggling to concentrate and 15% saying their productivity has decreased. 16% have also incurred debts for the first time in their professional lives this year (excluding mortgage debt).
Furthermore, homelife is being impacted too as financial concerns in the last year have made many lose sleep (28%), feel embarrassed (26%), argue with family and friends (18%), and even reduced 18% of workers to tears.
This comes as research from The Reward & Employee Benefits Association (REBA), in association with WEALTH at work[2], found that workplaces are increasingly recognising poor financial literacy as a key financial wellbeing risk (63% compared to 58% in 2022).
The report which surveyed almost 200 companies representing over 1.5 million employees found that employers expect financial pressures to continue, such as high childcare costs (64%), rental costs (66%), high consumer inflation (75%), and energy prices (77%), and that these factors are a risk to the financial wellbeing of their staff.
However, when it comes to getting help to understand their finances, 41% of employees don’t feel supported by their workplace.
But the good news is that employers are set to boost workplace financial wellbeing support. 53% of employers say that they will be increasing financial wellbeing spend over the next year, and 44% say that tackling financial distress in the workplace will be a key focus over the next two years. The number of employers offering independent financial education, guidance and advice is set to almost double. This may be because the significant majority of employers (96%) recognise that financial wellbeing is an integral part of improving wider employee wellbeing.
Jonathan Watts-Lay, Director, WEALTH at work, comments; “Money worries are really impacting people’s home and work life. It’s concerning that so many feel unsupported by their employer when it comes to their finances. There is a growing range of workplace financial wellbeing support available, however, it’s important that employees understand this and how to make the most of what’s available to them. This is why financial education in the workplace is so important as it can not only help develop understanding and encourage engagement with the benefits on offer, but it’s also a catalyst for behavioural change and action, resulting in added value for both employers and employees.”
[1] The research for WEALTH at work was carried out online by Opinion Matters throughout 25.08.23 – 30.08.23 amongst a panel resulting in 1,019 full-time workers responding. Click here to see the full results: https://www.wealthatwork.co.uk/corporate/2023/10/09/the-cost-of-money-worries-survey-results/
[2] The REBA Employee Financial Wellbeing Survey 2023 was carried out online between March and May 2023 and was launched on 26 September 2023. Responses were received from 195 wellbeing, HR and employee benefits specialists working at organisations representing over 1.5 million employees. Click here to see the full results: https://www.wealthatwork.co.uk/corporate/2023/09/26/financial-wellbeing-research-2023-creating-structured-approach-financial-benefits/
