As an employer, your employees are the backbone of your organisation. Their happiness and wellbeing directly impact your business’s success. One area that can have a significant impact on your employees’ overall wellbeing is their financial health. It’s not just a personal issue, but also a business concern.

We spoke to Paul Chedzey, Commercial Director at WorkLife by OpenMoney, the reasons why as an employer, you should be supporting your staff.

It’s estimated that a third of Brits don’t talk about their finances and many more worry about their financial situation. However, this ‘don’t talk money’ etiquette needs to be broken to be able to fix many personal, and even corporate issues.

Your staff are struggling, and it’s time for businesses to help. Here’s why:

Firstly, it is to reduce financial stress.

Financial stress is a widespread issue that affects millions of people around the world. Financial stress can impact your employees’ mental and physical health, leading to increased absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover. By offering financial wellness programs and resources, employers can help alleviate some of the financial stress their employees may be experiencing.

Secondly, it actually helps to improve employee productivity.

When employees are stressed about their finances – especially now with prices and interest rates rising – it can affect their productivity and performance. It’s challenging to focus on work when you’re worried about how you’re going to pay your bills, if you can get a mortgage, or how you’re going to save for retirement.

Helping your employees with financial wellbeing also attracts and retains staff.

Candidates are more likely to choose an employer that offers financial wellness programs and resources over one that doesn’t; “the great resignation” has seen thousands of employees seek new opportunities, and not just for salary. Millennials are looking at the overall package, from holidays to bonuses, and their benefits packages, rather than increasing wages.

Another area we often overlook is retirement, or for your employees, their readiness to retire.

We all want to retire at some stage. With the cost-of-living crisis, it is increasingly difficult to save money or be able to add more into the pension pot. The rainy-day fund is being used today which can cause stress and anxiety.

Employers can help their employees better understand their retirement options and prepare for a financially secure retirement, whether this is via education or financial coaching.

And finally, help to improve financial literacy.

Our educational system hasn’t armed us with the basic tips for money management, and nor has the workforce. When we join a company, we are often given tasks to do, such as how to use a fire extinguisher or data policies; we learn to protect the company’s assets, but not how to protect our own.

Financially literate employees are more likely to make informed business decisions, which can lead to improved business outcomes.

We do not expect an employer to do this alone, nor start 121s with their staff and micromanage their salaries! Rather, arm your teams with the resources to make these choices themselves.

Through Financial Wellbeing by OpenMoney, employees have access to a plethora of educational resources, 121 financial coaching and even financial advice if individuals are ready to take the next step. With regulated advisors and a team behind them, your staff can feel happier and more productive to your business.

If you would like a demo of this platform, or a chat about how you can help your employees from as little as £1 (per employee per month), don’t hesitate to reach out to me.