Opinion – Page 4
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OpinionKatherine Wilson: Employers need to be confident in supporting carers at work
Juggling work alongside caring for a loved one who is older, disabled or seriously ill can be a tricky balancing act. Nevertheless, many make this commitment, particularly those in their 40s and 50s.Juggling work and unpaid care: A growing issue, published by Carers UK in February 2019, shows that almost ...
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OpinionJonathan Watts-Lay: Five ways to help employees facing retirement
In the new world of freedom and choice in pensions, one of the fundamental elements of employee financial wellbeing is retirement preparation. Many employees will turn to their workplace for support at this stage of their life, so Wealth at Work has listed five ways employers can help staff who ...
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OpinionHelen Undy: Employers should help staff build financial resilience
Overstretched, overdrawn, underserved: Financial difficulty and mental health at work, published by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute in May 2017, found that two-thirds of UK employees who are struggling financially also show at least one sign of mental ill-health. These are issues that could affect their ability to ...
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OpinionChristopher Brooks: Should employers default staff into pensions guidance?
Pension freedoms have opened up a brave new world of financial decision-making. While this can be a positive, a typical individual accessing their pension is now expected to make decisions that balance present and future spending needs, while factoring in information about complex products of which they have no previous ...
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OpinionSteven Doyle: How to use behavioural psychology to tailor a benefits approach
Behavioural psychology was first popularised in 2008, with the publication of the bestselling book Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness, written by University of Chicago economist Richard Thaler and Harvard Law School Professor Cass Sunsteinand. Since then, there has been a growth in the application of ‘nudge theory’, ...
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OpinionCatherine Rickard: How can flexible working impact employees’ financial wellbeing?
The business benefits of flexible working initiatives and improved work-life balance have increasingly been recognised by organisations as a means of improving performance and employee productivity.However, there are also direct benefits when it comes to financial wellbeing. For example, according to the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development's (CIPD) Employee ...
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OpinionRosemary Lemon: Does ROI have to be monetary for financial wellbeing strategies?
Launching a new benefit is like making any other business proposal: there has to be a return on investment (ROI). A successful benefit, therefore, has to be valued by employees and make them feel more positively engaged with their organisation.This is especially true in the case of financial benefits. Financial ...
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OpinionJonathan Watts-Lay: Ensuring the savings effort pays off
Nearly half (46%) of all UK adults rate their own knowledge about financial matters as low and almost a quarter (24%) have little or no confidence in managing their money, according to the Financial Conduct Authority's Understanding the financial lives of UK adults report, published in October 2017.The impact of ...
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OpinionCharles Cotton: HR professionals have a crucial role in championing financial wellness
Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), sponsored by Close Brothers and released in January 2017, found that one in four employees admit that money worries have affected their performance at work. Based on a survey of more than 1,800 respondents, the results showed that while younger ...
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OpinionJonathan Maude: The legal perspective on flexible working arrangements
'Flexibility' is the buzzword around modern working. If employers do not embrace a flexible working pattern, they are likely to lose talent to competitors, and in the current uncertain market and economic conditions, this is the last thing they can risk. So, employers need to fully embrace flexibility for the ...
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OpinionProfessor Alex Bryson: All-employee share plans increase loyalty and productivity
Across Britain, around half of all listed organisations run some kind of all-employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), offering workers the opportunity to buy shares in the firm at discounted rates.In How does shared capitalism affect economic performance in the UK?, Bryson and Freeman, 2010, we found plan members behave differently ...
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OpinionJulia Waltham: Childcare vouchers are crucial for working families
Childcare is a crucial issue for many families in the UK. For a large majority, their decision to work is dependent on the availability of good quality, local, and crucially, affordable childcare. But for many families, the numbers just do not add up. Family and Childcare Trust's Childcare Survey 2018, ...
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OpinionCharles Cotton: How can employees' personal finances impact on employers?
The Financial wellbeing: the employee view report, published by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) in January 2017, found that one in four UK employees believe that money worries have affected their performance at work.This proportion is even higher in certain regions, such as London, and within different ...
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OpinionJulia Hanna: Financial fitness is a win-win for employers and employees
There is increasing evidence that financial anxiety impacts mental, physical and social wellbeing. This, in turn, impacts attendance and performance at work.With stagnant wages, increased life expectancy, and an uncertain economy and job prospects, according to PWC’s Employee financial wellness survey, published in April 2015, about a third of us ...
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OpinionJonathan Watts-Lay: Helping employees to focus on their finances
It is not uncommon for employees to face financial worries at various stages of their life, whether that is dealing with debt, concerns over retirement savings or making their monthly budget work.The link between debt, money worries and stress, lower productivity and absenteeism are increasingly recognised by employers and many ...
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OpinionBen Willmott: Improving the modern world of employment with the Taylor report
The increase in self-employment over the last few years plus the rise of the ‘gig economy’ has seen an increasing debate about the pros and the cons of these so-called atypical working arrangements. A key issue has been employment status and rights because many people are not clear on what ...
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OpinionCatherine Rickard: Student loan repayment help recognises employees' wider financial situations
Major changes associated with expanding higher education provision have increased the levels of debt held by millennials as they enter the labour market, as well as the number of people affected by such immediate debt.Projections have shown that graduates will be paying off student debt well into their 40s and ...
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OpinionHelen Undy: How can employers help employees improve their financial resilience?
While employees might try their best to leave their problems at the door when coming to work, we all know it is not realistic. Employees are human beings; when under financial pressure, behind on bills or being contacted by creditors, they underperform at work and their mental health can be ...
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OpinionRosemary Lemon: What does 2018 hold for employee benefits?
Life is getting hard and it looks like getting tougher in 2018 as we struggle with the potential impact of Brexit, increasing cost of living and the ever expensive property market. Recent press coverage has highlighted the escalating use of food banks and the fact that, as Christmas approaches, some ...
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OpinionJoanna Bean: Improving financial wellbeing at Samsung
Saving for retirement, or life after work as we call it at Samsung, is an important part of our approach to financial wellbeing and we incorporate this into everyday life and within our varied communications portfolio. It is important to talk to employees at every stage of their work-life journey ...