What is financial wellbeing?
When you boil it down, people have two uses for money:
Security: To pay for things that let them and their family survive.
Freedom of choice: To pay for things that let them and their family live the life they wantThe four elements of Financial Wellbeing
How can you support your financial wellbeing?
Everyone has a different financial wellbeing journey ahead of them. As a business you want to make sure you support people at every stage:
Stage 1: Control over our finances
It’s important to understand where our money goes each month and, more importantly, the reasons behind why we spend the way we do. Forming healthy money habits – such as conscious spending – allows us to take control of our finances.
Stage 2: Capacity to absorb shock
Setting up emergency funds means that we are financially prepared for the unexpected. This offers both financial security and peace of mind, with the knowledge that we are financially secure should something happen to us or our families.
Stage 3: Financial freedom to make choices to enjoy life
Achieving our financial goals means understanding the changes we have to make now to get there. These small changes help us reach the dreams we have for our futures, whilst still giving us financial freedom to enjoy today.
Stage 4: On track to meet our goals
Not everything in life goes according to plan. When circumstances change, we need to be ready to need to reassess, adapt, and get back on track. Making informed trade-offs about what to do with our money is a key part of being able to make the best of the unpredictable.
Why should you support financial wellbeing in the workplace?
COVID-19 has morphed from a health crisis to a wealth crisis, and financial wellbeing is rising on the agenda. Forward thinking businesses and employers are recognising the duty of care they have in creating a remote culture with financial wellbeing benefits
30%
of employees agreed that they are just getting by financially, while more than a third do not think they are in a position to handle a major unexpected expense.
31%
of employees feel their finances control their life, while a quarter often feel behind with their finances.
4.2m
worker days are estimated to be lost each year as a result of workplace absences brought about by a lack of financial wellbeing, equivalent to £626 million in lost output.
£1.56b
is estimated to be the cost to business for absenteeism and presenteeism caused by a lack of financial wellbeing.
2%
of workers have taken time off in the past year because of their financial situation, with on average 8 days taken. This represents a sizeable loss for employers as well as having knock on effects for their team mates.
11%
of workers say they have experienced a fall in workplace productivity as a result of their personal financial situation.
