How Financial Wellness Training Helps Lower Stress, Increase Productivity
2023-04-04 | Blog
Improving financial wellness is a priority for employees, as economic uncertainties and inflation shake the confidence of an already stressed-out workforce. A recent survey by The Hartford found that 63% of US workers said their financial stress has increased over the past year, while 56% said it negatively impacts their mental health. Personal financial issues hurt employee productivity, too. A financial wellness survey by PwC revealed that financial worries affected the productivity of 76% of stressed employees.
Financial wellness is an integral part of an effective health and wellness program that addresses the various dimensions affecting employee behavior and engagement, including physical, social, emotional, environmental, intellectual, spiritual and occupational wellbeing.
Supporting employee financial wellness is a competitive advantage, too, as organizations compete to attract and retain talent. Promoting financial wellness helps foster a positive work culture that enables employees to focus on work and be more engaged and productive – factors that benefit organizations and the bottom line.
Improving financial health with financial literacy
Financial wellness involves developing positive habits and realistic goals that enable individuals to achieve financial stability and freedom. Financial literacy is key to achieving financial wellness.
The term financial literacy is the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage one’s financial resources over a lifetime, enabling individuals to make better financial decisions and achieve financial goals. These include effectively managing money and debt, preparing for short- and long-term needs and emergencies, and reducing financial stress, a condition that can negatively affect other aspects of life.
“Financial wellness is an important dimension of a holistic employee health and wellness program. Helping employees feel more in control of money matters helps strengthen work culture and employees’ ability to thrive during times of uncertainty and change.” Maggie Smith, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Traliant
Insights & Actions
While everyone’s situation is different, financial wellness training provides proactive steps that employees can take to increase their financial literacy and reduce financial stress. These include:
- Setting financial goals and taking greater control over managing finances — an important component of overall health and wellbeing.
- Applying the elements of financial literacy, the building blocks for making better choices and achieving financial goals.
- Raising awareness of the negative impact of financial stress on emotional health, self-esteem, confidence, personal and professional relationships and existing mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety.
- Promoting good financial habits and behaviors that turn money worries and stress into a sense of security and stability that benefits all aspects of life.
- Connecting the dots between financial wellness and physical, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, occupational and environmental wellbeing and understanding how they impact each other.
- Encouraging employees to take advantage of employer-provided financial wellness and financial planning resources available through your 401(k) provider and/or employee assistance program (EAP).