80% of the American workforce lives paycheck-to-paycheck, which creates stress and worry among these individuals. Organizations need to start offering financial wellness as an added benefit to their employees. Many individuals struggle to manage their finances and don’t know where to begin correctly. Adding financial wellness to an employee benefit plan will increase employees’ confidence and knowledge and make them less stressed and more productive while working.
Financial wellness is still viewed as a courteous offering, but it should transition into the must-have addition for employee benefits. Offering financial education programs where employees can learn different topics of their choice at their own pace is highly effective. COVID-19 changed everything about financial wellness. People all over the world were laid-off, furloughed, and struggled to support themselves and their families. Even before COVID-19 hit, many people struggled to pay their regular monthly expenses. 18 million people lost their jobs in April 2020, making this daily struggle even worse. Allowing employees to make a come-back from these struggles is so important and shows their company values them.
The stress that finances put on individuals decreases other important aspects of life, such as physical and mental health. These two factors are so essential to keep healthy daily since they affect work life. It isn’t easy to do well in one area when another area suffers. When health suffers, stress increases, and productivity is lost—the loss of productivity increases in profits very quickly.
Companies must address financial health more frequently to make organizations more aware of this issue. Providing more resources and tools for employees to learn about their finances, their current problems, and how they can improve upon these problems to make their financial future better and healthier will all around bring a positive light to an employee’s life.
If an organization is looking to implement a financial wellness program or financial wellness resources, learn more about how Financial Fitness Group’s solutions can help employees increase their financial wellness knowledge here.