Financial Fitness Focus Can Energize Wellness Programs
Partner
Director of Retirement Plan Services, M3 Financial
Money Matters – Don’t let financial stress undermine your employees’ wellness efforts
The implementation of wellness programs in the workplace has been on the rise for the past decade. If you have already put such a program in place, your efforts should be applauded! But ask yourself, is your wellness program designed in a way that incorporates your employees’ overall wellbeing?
In our recent blog, Is Your “Cheap” Retirement Plan Costing You Money we shared that individuals exhibiting high levels of stress are 24 percent more costly to insure than individuals with low degrees of stress [1] and that personal finances and financial stress have been the leading cause of stress in America for years, affecting 62 percent of Americans in 2017 [2].
It has become evident that workplace wellness programs should be holistic in nature. That is, they should include elements of financial measurement, engagement, and incentive.
Including financial measures as part of your wellness program can:
- Decrease overall employee benefit costs
- Allow employees to retire in a timely manner and with dignity
- Improve productivity among workers
In 2018, the M3 team has taken some big strides towards “eating our own cooking” as it relates to financial wellbeing among our employees. Through a partnership between M3 Financial and M3’s Human Resources team, along with the implementation of a workplace financial wellness assessment tool, we’ve been able to add a financial incentive for M3 employees to engage in a financial wellness program.
While we continue to run our traditional physical wellness incentive program, (including BioScreens, online self-assessments, coaching, and more), we have also begun to incent our employees for completing a financial assessment and participating in an on-site financial wellbeing seminar. This seminar is aimed at educating employees of all financial knowledge levels and ultimately lowering their financial stress.
If you would like more information and/or resources regarding the concept of financial wellness, how it can be integrated into your wellness program, and the potential return on investment to your business or organization, please contact a M3 Financial Retirement Plan Consultant.
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SOURCES:
[1] Higher Health Care Costs for Metabolic Syndrome Risk, Disabled World, September 2009
[2] American Psychological Association Stress in America Survey 2017
Investment advisory services offered through Global Retirement Partners, LLC, dba M3 Financial, an SEC registered investment advisor.
