The Importance of Financial Wellness
Did you know 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck1?
Money concerns rank as the second leading source of stress amongst Americans2. In addition to causing stress on their pocketbooks, this level of instability can have a huge impact on your employees’ physical and mental wellbeing – as well as your organization’s bottom line.
Stress about finances can be the start of a downward cycle. According to a study by Fox and Chancey (1998), financial stress is correlated negatively with perception of one’s health, self-esteem, marriage satisfaction, and family functioning.
Financial insecurity results in a financial loss for your business
A business functions only as well as its employees, so it makes sense that this negative correlation in employee wellbeing translates into an undesirable result for your business.
Approximately 5% of total payroll is at risk of being spent on employees unproductively worrying about their finances during work hours.
Imagine what your organization could do with a happier workforce and that 5% of payroll back on your bottom line.
What employers can do to set their employees up for success around financial wellness
With access to financial advice, employees gain the ability to talk to someone about their financial issues and create a plan for the future. Many employees view financial advice as something they will never have access to or do not need because of their financial standing. However, even baseline financial education can create a positive impact in overall wellbeing.
Financial wellness programs are a great solution for employers. Most employees don’t have the resources or access to financial and benefits planning advice on their own, making workplace financial wellness programs a great way to provide a value add as an employer.
How to start a financial wellness program at your organization
M3 Financial believes it is important to tailor the wellness program rollout to the employee population in a number of aspects. The first step to a successful wellness program is understanding the best way to communicate with your employees and make them feel safe engaging in the program. Once a communication strategy is in place, data can be gathered on the topics of most interest or need for your employees. M3 Financial strives to help employees reach a financially secure retirement.
Sources:
1Mercer, Inside Employees’ MindsTM, Financial Wellness, Volume 2
2Fox, G.L., & Chancey, D (1998). Sources of economic distress: individual and family outcomes.
Investment advisory services offered through Global Retirement Partners, LLC, dba M3 Financial, an SEC registered investment advisor.
