Employee stress can negatively affect your business. The more stressed your staff feel, the less work they will complete due to mental health problems and other physical ailments.
According to the Canadian government, 40% of the employed Canadian population feels daily stress due to debt. In addition, even if your workers are not in debt, routine expenses can hit hard.
Almost half of workers reported to the Canadian government that they live paycheque to paycheque, meaning they would not be able to pay their bills if their wages arrived late. Many Canadians don’t even have a grasp of how to manage their finances properly.
To maintain a productive workplace and thus save yourself thousands of dollars a year on workers’ wasted time, you must prioritize employees’ financial wellness.
Today, Group Enroll will present you with the following guide on why financial stress can cost you money and how to help your employees overcome it. Let’s first start by taking a look at what the true meaning of financial wellness is.
Table of Contents
What is an Example of Financial Wellness?
People who have achieved financial wellness are:
- Feeling secure about their future
- Feeling secure that their families will be taken care of should the unthinkable happen
- Able to pay their bills on time
- Managing their monthly expenses
- Not living paycheque to paycheque
- Conserving emergency money (typically about three months worth of total living expenses)
- Able to save for long-term goals and larger purchases and investments
- Able to enjoy life by making choices that allow them to take part in what they love (travel, courses, sports, hobbies)
How Financial Stress Affects Employees
Workers experiencing financial stress in their personal life report spending over one-third more time than usual at work worrying about money. Furthermore, employees with financial anxiety are 16% more likely to report a lack of productivity at work.
Thus, there are two main problems caused by financial stress: decreased productivity and absenteeism.
Financial Stress Is Detrimental to Productivity
According to a Stats Can study, stressed workers waste time due to mental anxiety. This loss appears in both quantity and quality of work, as overextended employees may lack creativity and work at a slower pace. It also indicates that triggers such as too many demands, poor interpersonal relations, risk of injury and threat of job loss contribute to their unhappiness in the workplace.
The same study estimates that companies lose some $300 billion every year due to reduced work output worldwide. Even the hardest-working employee can become bogged down by financial stress.
Employees Who Struggle Financially Are Less Focused at Work
A lack of productivity is directly related to heightened anxiety and other ailments. The Canadian government reports that employees under financial stress are twice as likely to have poor mental health. They are also four times more likely to suffer from insomnia and migraines.
Moreover, stress can lead to health complications such as high blood pressure or heart disease. The culmination of all these problems only increases employees’ anxiety levels, thus creating a cycle of financial, physical, and mental stress.
This cycle leads to 46% of employees dedicating at least three hours a week to worrying about their finances. They might also need more sick time due to increasing ailments or commit simple errors that could be catastrophic for your business.
How Can I Help My Employees Improve Their Financial Security?
Improving your staff’s financial wellness is not only a charitable action but also a business strategy. Minimizing your team’s financial stress will increase focus and productivity levels. Your staff is also less likely to suffer from physical ailments.
Though office perks such as free coffee and annual employee parties can improve rapport with your staff, they do not lead to overall satisfaction—free coffee will not pay your team members’ monthly rent. And those pub afternoons are certainly not a replacement for a retirement package.
According to the Canadian government, 84% of workers say they would partake in financial education provided by their employer. 70% also believe that management should provide resources to help support financial wellness.
Our four suggestions to improve the financial life of your team are:
- Provide financial education
- Encourage physical health
- Suggest or provide retirement plans
- Offer private group insurance
Provide Financial Education
Though budgeting may seem like a no-brainer, much of the Canadian population does not know how to create a financial plan. To provide financial education, start by assessing your staff’s needs and proceed accordingly.
If you feel that your employees could benefit from courses on managing personal finances, you can either create your own course or hire a professional. You can also supply financial advisors to evaluate individuals or even create incentive-driven contests to encourage healthy financial habits.
Team members should receive counselling on credit, saving, and budgeting. For example, creating a savings plan that includes an emergency fund and suggesting a high-interest savings account to achieve it are great suggestions for anyone new to budgeting.
Encourage Physical Health
Physical health has a direct influence on financial and mental well-being. Smokers, for example, spend hundreds if not thousands, of dollars per year on their addiction. Encouraging physical health in the workplace is a great tactic to improve finances.
When promoting physical health, involve your entire team and avoid unintentionally targeting one employee. For example, you could offer a support program that an employee can voluntarily request if they want to quit an addiction. Or, you could replace junk food with healthy snacks in the break room.
Suggest or Provide Retirement Plans
For small businesses, your budget or resources may not allow you to provide retirement plans. However, if you have the assets, you can offer your team members private employer-sponsored pension plans or group retirement savings plans.
For those without assets, you should at least educate your staff on the Canada Pension Plan and how to apply for it.
Offer Private Group Insurance
Finally, you can improve your team’s medical coverage by offering health and dental group employee plans. Though Canada’s universal system pays for basic healthcare services, other aspects like dental and prescription medications are full-price for Canadians.
Paying for expensive medications or dental procedures can increase stress levels. The benefit of group insurance plans is that they are one of the easiest ways to improve your employees’ financial lives.
Four Ways to Cultivate a Positive and Productive Work Environment
There’s more great info on boosting employee productivity here.
Find Insurance to Alleviate Financial Stress for Your Employees
It’s time to take action and improve your team’s financial wellness. Take the first step by applying for group insurance.
If you would like to find out more about private group insurance plans, contact Group Enroll. We scan multiple providers so you can choose the best option for your business. To start the process, you must fill out our quote form.
We will contact 5-10 of our partners based on your needs and send you the most competitive proposal. You can ask for group dental insurance, extended health care plans, and more! If you need additional information, you can also contact us at [email protected].
Find our office’s location at:
10 Great Gulf Drive, Unit 5
Vaughan, ON
L4K 0K7
We look forward to hearing from you!
