Financial Wellbeing in the Workplace

Wellbeing in the workplace is becoming an important part in HR strategies and recruitment, with candidates often considering benefits packages when it comes to job applications.

When we think of workplace wellbeing, physical and mental variants come to mind, but often we overlook one other very important arm of wellbeing – finance. One of the leading causes of stress is financial worries and troubles, and when this is paired with other personal problems and workplace stress, it’s easy for employees to become overwhelmed and struggle to cope.

A recent study by Money and Mental Health showed that up to one in five (21%) of the UK workforce are, to some degree, experiencing a form of financial insecurity. This could be due to debt, insecure working hours, or difficulty meeting day to day living costs. Two-thirds of this group (67%) have also reported at least one sign of poor mental health, ranging from sleeping difficulties, anxiety and increased worry. With the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s easy to imagine the number of UK workers that are currently facing even more financial hardship than before.

While financial worries are considered a personal matter, they have the ability to affect the way we work. Poor mental health as a direct result from financial troubles can lower concentration, productivity and increase absenteeism, all of which can impact the overall business success.

Many employers acknowledge the importance of supporting the health and wellbeing of their staff, but some may not realise that financial wellbeing falls under this too. We have put together some advice on creating a healthy financial wellbeing culture in the workplace.

Easy-to-access information

Hive360 commissioned a recent study, People at the Heart, which gave an in-depth look at key engagement drivers for UK employees. Results showed that 52% of workers state poor workplace technology affects their financial wellbeing, which can include the lack of a dedicated area for workers to access information surrounding pay, pensions and financial support. By investing in an employee engagement app, all information is available to employees in the palm of their hand.

Hive360 is proud to offer an Engage App that gives your workers quick, easy and secure access to digital payslips, important pay documents, pension information and discounts all in the palm of their hands.

Pensions

Our People at the Heart study highlighted that 29% of UK workers have no idea what their pension is worth, with similar numbers saying they would welcome guidance from their employer on how to access information about their pension and its performance. 16% said they didn’t know how to access information about their pension.

Auto-enrolment is now a legal requirement in the UK. Anyone over the age of 22 in full-time employment earning more than £10,000 a year must be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension. Employers shouldn’t stop at that and should consider going a bit further in delivering more value around pensions.

This doesn’t have to involve offering a higher pension contribution, this simply could mean educating employees on their pension plan, aligning a dedicated HR member to answer all pension queries and making sure that all information regarding pensions are easy for employees to access.

Money Management Advice

Employers should consider offering in-house training and advice on debt management, savings and budgeting guidance. If skills and resources aren’t available to do this in house, several outsourced HR & Payroll companies offer this kind of service through employee benefits.

At HIVE360, our state-of-the-art engagement app has a knowledge hub full of resources surrounding financial wellbeing, such as a personal budget planner and advice on debt, savings and investments.