What is the impact of poor financial wellbeing at work?
It goes without saying that financial stress can have a significant impact on our mental health. Not only can it be damaging to personal lives and relationships but it can also impact work. Employees suffering from financial stress will exhibit lower levels of performance, have increased absenteeism and often make more mistakes; all of which can cause major issues for an employer, so the importance of financial wellbeing at work can't be understated
You may think as an employer that such issues are out of your control, but there are things you can do to help with this situation.
Here are four top tips on how to improve financial wellbeing at work.
Encourage employees to talk about their financial wellbeing and concerns
Financial struggles are a reality for many people. With the cost of living crisis continuing and wages relatively stagnant, it's not surprising that many employees are feeling financially pressured and financially stressed. Some companies have started peer-to-peer giving programs to help their employees in times of need. This is a great way for managers and HR alike to show support, as well as give back to those who work hard every day.
It's important that employers do what they can to help employees struggling with money problems to feel supported by their managers, HR department and general work environment.
This doesn’t mean employees should be asking for loans or borrowing money. But it’s important to create an environment where they feel they can talk about their problems openly. Or at least having someone in the company or HR that they can speak to and discuss such issues. When done right, this will give companies the ability to provide the relevant training or support to help the team thrive.
Educate managers on how to spot poor financial wellbeing at work
In order to spot the signs of workplace stress or financial stress, it's important for managers and HR professionals to be educated on what those indicators look like. These can include:
- Increased absenteeism
- Employees being quieter and more withdrawn
- Employees making more mistakes
- Irritability and anger outbursts
- Constant conflict with colleagues
Educating your team about what these symptoms may mean will help them identify when something is really wrong with their colleague or employee.
Companies like VinciWorks also offer training for employers on how to spot signs of mental health challenges in the workplace and how best to prevent them.
Offer employees tools and tips for improving financial wellbeing at work
This is a great way for managers and HR alike to show support, as well as give back to those who work hard every day. There are a number of ways to incorporate financial education and mental health support into your organisation and employee benefits scheme. T
At PayCaptain, we designed our cloud-based payroll software to make running Payroll a breeze, but also to help better support employees' financial wellbeing.
Partnering with The Money Advice Service, we've incorporated financial wellbeing features such as savings pots, flexible payments, payment splitting and a pensions dashboard, amongst other functionality, in our innovative payroll app. The PayCaptain Team is also available with exceptional employee support, providing best practice information and recommendations for money management advice.
We also developed a survey to evaluate how employees feel about their finances. The survey creates a score and recommends guidance that can help improve financial wellbeing. This information is confidential but companies can view anonymised average scores to track financial wellness improvements over time.
Give employees more flexibility around when they get paid and how they manage their money
As a business owner, one way to improve the financial wellbeing of your employees is to give them more flexibility around when they get paid. This can be done by opting for a payroll system that offers on-demand pay. Employees can access a portion of their accrued earnings in the event of emergencies or unexpected bills, giving them greater control over their personal finances. HR will also be able to run payroll reports to see what payments have been made each pay period, allowing them to identify if an employee has a potential problem and provide support where necessary.
The key is in the implementation
Hopefully, this has given you a good idea of what you can do to start better supporting employees who are financially struggling.
However, the key lies in the implementation and making these things part of your workplace culture.
If you're serious about the wellbeing of your employees, we'd love to show you how PayCaptain can save you time in your Payroll process but also support your employees' mental and wellbeing financial at work. You can book a free demo of the system here.
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