“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” -Benjamin Franklin
Wellness is a hot topic for employers looking to help their employees live their best lives. Having a wellness program in place can reduce an employer’s exposure to the problems caused when employees have issues with their health. The symptoms of these issues can range from lackluster performance to being physically unable to do work.
To stave off these effects by addressing the root causes, many employers have invested in programs for their employees to eat more healthily, exercise more and quit smoking, but one key component of wellness that may not be as widely addressed in the workplace is financial wellness. (Although that trend could be changing, according to a recent WSJ article.)
Financial Wellness and the Health of Your Business
Money problems can impact employees just as much as health problems. A 2017 special report from PWC, “Financial Stress and the Bottom Line,” indicates that employers primarily focus on preparation for retirement if they are addressing financial well-being for their employees. However, living beyond one’s means, having poor credit, being in debt or filing bankruptcy can be traumatic for employees in their personal lives, and will also influence their job performance.
Having a financial wellness program can be a great way to prevent or correct these situations for your employees. By adopting good financial habits, people can avoid the stressors that can lead to health problems, absenteeism and low performance.
It’s time for a checkup. Here are three indicators of financial wellness in your workplace.
- Absenteeism drops. When your employees have effective solutions to guide them in their financial lives, they are preventing the toll stress can take, and can have less frequent need for sick days.
- Safety incidents. Distracted employees have more accidents on the job. This can be costly in terms of workers’ compensation claims. Helping employees to manage their financial wellness can contribute to keeping incidents and the associated costs low.
- Engagement increases. If you are seeing that employees are willing to give more discretionary effort, then you can bet that they are finding ways to avoid some of life’s stressors. Strategies like having a budget give people control over potentially stressful situations and let them focus on their goals.
Are you exhibiting the indicators of financial wellness—or the symptoms of poor financial health? When vetting “treatment” options, you’ll want to look for the elements that make all wellness programs successful: effective, easy-to-use tools that don’t require training, and a program provider who can assure you that your employees’ data stays private and secure.
To learn more about implementing a corporate financial wellness program, please visit www.brightplan.com/wellness or call 1 (888) 220-1163.
