How to Help Your Employees Deal with Financial Stress
Employee financial concerns can have a major impact on your business. Learn what you can do to help ease employee financial stress.
By
Betterment Editors
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How to Help Your Employees Deal with Financial Stress Sep 19, 2022 2:57:00 PM Employee financial concerns can have a major impact on your business. Learn what you can do to help ease employee financial stress. Financial stress has been felt by Americans since the birth of the country. The nature of that stress has obviously evolved and the COVID pandemic exacerbated many problems. Between juggling childcare responsibilities, student loans, medical expenses, across-the-board inflation – it’s no secret that employees are facing added pressure. And asking them to leave those stressors at the door when they start their workday may not be a realistic expectation. Consider this: Data from an American Psychological Association survey shows that in February 2022, 65% of Americans were stressed about money and the economy – the highest percentage recorded since 2015. Another recent survey found that 61% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck, as of June 2022. And the biggest rise in paycheck-to-paycheck consumers were those earning between $100,000 and $150,000. One in 3 Americans said they’re either struggling or in a crisis with their personal finances, and over half said they had difficulty paying their bills, according to a report from Ramsey Solutions, The State Of Personal Finance In America 2022. Fifty-nine percent of Americans said they worry about their general finances daily, and about half have lost sleep in the last three months due to financial worries. What can you do to help ease employee financial stress? You don’t need a big, expensive financial wellness program to help your employees. To begin, think about financial wellness benefits resources you already have at your disposal: Does your health insurance plan have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)? In addition to helping employees navigate health care issues, EAPs frequently offer advice on budgeting, debt consolidation, retirement savings planning, and more. Do you have an in-house expert? Enlist your CFO or another financially savvy manager, CFO, or HR professional, to share savings tips or lead an information session to address common financial issues. answer commonly asked financial questions. Do you offer a 401(k) plan? If so, your 401(k) provider likely offers a variety of educational tools and resources to help employees budget and save for retirement (and beyond). By leveraging these resources, and educating your employees about the benefits they are already receiving, you can begin the process of improving employee financial wellbeing. Betterment can help At Betterment, our mission is simple: to empower people to do what’s best for their money so they can live better. By using our online platform, employees can plan for their long- and short-term financial goals ranging from retirement to an emergency fund to a new house. Betterment’s unique technological solution: Takes into account employees’ ages, savings, and goals to create a personalized plan to help them save for the future they want. Enables employees to link their outside assets, making it easy for them to see a fuller picture of their personal finances. Can boost employees’ after-tax returns using tax-smart tools available at no additional management fee. Beyond saving for retirement, Betterment helps employees gain control of their finances so they can reduce their stress and focus on what matters most to them.
Financial stress has been felt by Americans since the birth of the country. The nature of that stress has obviously evolved and the COVID pandemic exacerbated many problems. Between juggling childcare responsibilities, student loans, medical expenses, across-the-board inflation – it’s no secret that employees are facing added pressure. And asking them to leave those stressors at the door when they start their workday may not be a realistic expectation. Consider this:
- Data from an American Psychological Association survey shows that in February 2022, 65% of Americans were stressed about money and the economy – the highest percentage recorded since 2015.
- Another recent survey found that 61% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck, as of June 2022. And the biggest rise in paycheck-to-paycheck consumers were those earning between $100,000 and $150,000.
- One in 3 Americans said they’re either struggling or in a crisis with their personal finances, and over half said they had difficulty paying their bills, according to a report from Ramsey Solutions, The State Of Personal Finance In America 2022. Fifty-nine percent of Americans said they worry about their general finances daily, and about half have lost sleep in the last three months due to financial worries.
What can you do to help ease employee financial stress?
You don’t need a big, expensive financial wellness program to help your employees. To begin, think about financial wellness benefits resources you already have at your disposal:
- Does your health insurance plan have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)? In addition to helping employees navigate health care issues, EAPs frequently offer advice on budgeting, debt consolidation, retirement savings planning, and more.
- Do you have an in-house expert? Enlist your CFO or another financially savvy manager, CFO, or HR professional, to share savings tips or lead an information session to address common financial issues. answer commonly asked financial questions.
- Do you offer a 401(k) plan? If so, your 401(k) provider likely offers a variety of educational tools and resources to help employees budget and save for retirement (and beyond).
By leveraging these resources, and educating your employees about the benefits they are already receiving, you can begin the process of improving employee financial wellbeing.
Betterment can help
At Betterment, our mission is simple: to empower people to do what’s best for their money so they can live better. By using our online platform, employees can plan for their long- and short-term financial goals ranging from retirement to an emergency fund to a new house. Betterment’s unique technological solution:
- Takes into account employees’ ages, savings, and goals to create a personalized plan to help them save for the future they want.
- Enables employees to link their outside assets, making it easy for them to see a fuller picture of their personal finances.
- Can boost employees’ after-tax returns using tax-smart tools available at no additional management fee.
Beyond saving for retirement, Betterment helps employees gain control of their finances so they can reduce their stress and focus on what matters most to them.