Do You Know How Your Employees Feel About Their Finances?
In today's fast-paced and uncertain economic environment, financial stress is a growing concern among employees and employers.
To address this, Marketing Program Executive for Employee Financial Solutions at ADP, Kim Sergent, shared her expertise in the on-demand webinar, Financial wellness & the employer's role: What are your workers telling us? The webinar covered various aspects of financial wellness, including its importance in the workforce, benefits for both employees and employers and tips for improving financial wellness.
Keep reading to get the key points or launch the on-demand webinar now: Financial wellness & the employer's role: What are your workers telling us?
What is employee financial wellness?
Employee financial wellness refers to the state of an employee's financial health, which includes their ability to manage their finances, pay bills on time, put money away into savings and prepare for unexpected costs and expenses. Things that influence employee financial wellness are pay, benefits, financial stressors — like the economy or the rising cost of living — as well as expected and unexpected expenses.
What challenges to financial wellness are employees facing?
Challenges to financial wellness that employees may face include low pay, higher cost of living, lack of savings, unexpected expenses and other issues. Sergent says these things can lead to increased stress for employees. "Financial stressors can result in a negative impact on both employees' physical and mental well-being."
According to a study done in partnership by ADP with Visa, 46 percent of employees are living paycheck to paycheck, and 40 percent say that living paycheck to paycheck saps their productivity at work.1
Living paycheck-to-paycheck is a major source of stress and anxiety for employees because it could make it difficult to plan for long-term financial goals, prevent participation in leisure activities, negatively impact personal development, and even deter healthy eating.
Want to know more about the status of employee financial wellness? Check out the financial wellness check-up infographic.
What can employers do to help with employee financial stressors?
Employers can offer a variety of benefits and tools to help their employees handle financial stressors and prioritize their financial wellness. Those tools include things like Wisely® pay cards, which offer various features such as help with saving2, earning cashback rewards3, and cost savings or flexible payment options through earned wage access (EWA).4 There are also educational tools employers can provide employees, like financial education classes and materials, as well as special programs like Financial Fitness Week by Wisely®, which features simple daily challenges and quick money management tips that are designed to help put individuals on a better path to financial success
When employers acknowledge their employees' financial needs and engage with tools and pay flexibility that can truly benefit their employees, they can help break the cycle of payday lending which could have a profoundly positive effect on their employees as well as their overall employee morale and bottom line.
What are the benefits of prioritizing employee financial wellness?
The benefits of prioritizing employee financial wellness include reduced stress, improved physical and mental well-being and increased engagement and productivity for employees. These benefits not only impact employees, but they impact employers as well. Implementing financial wellness programs can lead to improved employee retention, reduced absenteeism, and better overall job performance.
The wrap-up
The moral of the story is that financial wellness is important to employees, and employers that take their employees' financial wellness seriously by offering flexible pay and financial education tools could reap the benefit of employees that have less stress, are more engaged and productive at work and stick around longer.
To explore this further, launch our on-demand webcast: Financial wellness & the employer's role: What are your workers telling us?
Dive deeper
Financial Wellness Check-up: Are Your Employees Feeling Fiscally Fit?
Increasing Worker Productivity Through Financial Security
Obtain and Retain Talent: Run a Successful Business and Focus on Employee Financial Wellness
Improve the financial wellness of your workforce with Wisely
1. Visa Financial Wellness Research Sept 2023, commissioned by ADP.
2 Amounts transferred to their savings envelope will no longer appear in their available balance. They can transfer money from their savings envelope back to their available balance at any time using the myWisely app or at mywisely.com.
3. Cash back rewards on purchases at participating merchants are powered by Dosh Rewards. Opt-In is required for Dosh Rewards only. Most Cash Back Rewards will appear in their Wisely Rewards savings envelope within 4 weeks after the transaction has completed. Funds from all Rewards can be moved from the savings envelope into the available balance on their card. They must log in to the myWisely app to access the Rewards feature for purchases. These optional offers are not a Fifth Third Bank, Pathward or a Mastercard or Visa product or service, nor does Fifth Third Bank, Pathward, Mastercard, or Visa endorse this offer.
4. Earned Wage Access powered by DailyPay™, is available to Wisely Pay cardholders through the myWisely app or at mywisely.com once their Wisely card is activated. Additional terms and limits apply. Opt-in is required by both the employer and the employee. This optional offer is not a Fifth Third Bank, Pathward, Mastercard or Visa product or service, nor does Fifth Third Bank, Pathward, Mastercard or Visa endorse this offer.
The Wisely Pay Visa® is issued by Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Member FDIC or Pathward®, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. The Wisely Pay Mastercard® is issued by Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Member FDIC or Pathward®, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated. The Wisely Direct Mastercard is issued by Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. ADP is a registered ISO of Fifth Third Bank, N.A., or Pathward, N.A. The Wisely Pay Visa card can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Visa and the Visa logo are registered trademarks of Visa International Service Association. The Wisely Pay Mastercard and Wisely Direct Mastercard can be used where Debit Mastercard is accepted. Mastercard and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated. Wisely, myWisely and the Wisely logo are registered trademarks of ADP, Inc. Copyright © 2024 ADP, Inc. All rights reserved.
