Employee Financial Wellness – Part of Productive WorkPlace!
The most critical assets of any organization are the employees who spend more than two-thirds of their day at the workplace. For any organization to grow and be successful, it is critical to have a productive workforce that actively contributes and nurtures the organization.
Now imagine, would this be possible with unhappy, unmotivated or dissatisfied employees? These feelings may not have anything to do with the workplace; on the contrary, this would more often than not be because of the personal financial stress that the employees are undergoing.
The traditional mindset from an organization has always been a hands off policy when it comes to an employee’s personal finance situation. After all, the argument goes, if the salaries are being paid on time; it is upto the employee to manage and plan their finances.
Recent studies* have shown an alarming trend where more and more employees are indicating that their personal finance has been a distraction at work and has been making them less productive. What should an employer do in this case? Increasing the salaries may seem to be the easy way out; but how much is enough? Financial stress is the new problem that companies must wake up to and address.
Why Does Financial Stress Occur?
As the name suggests, financial stress is the stress caused by the ill-management of the finances. It usually arises in case of debt, inability to pay rents, improper usage of the money, etc. The financial stress could be ongoing and chronic, disturbing professional and personal relationships. A lot of health implications are also associated with financial stress.
According to a financial Wellness Survey conducted by ArthaYantra across 100 employees, 87% wants financial planning advice from experts. Refer to the infographic for more survey results.
How does one identify if employees have financial stress?
Employee stress will manifest in many ways; from watercooler conversations to demands for salary hikes to a low score in the employee satisfaction survey. (the Comp and Ben sections have the lowest or second lowest rating always)
One organization discovered when the HR noticed a surge in requests by the employees for address/employment proof. On digging deeper, the enterprising HR resource found that these letters were being solicited to seek personal loans by the employees. It was turning into an endemic problem as the employees were living beyond their means.
While one can use the offline conversations and the dipstick check; they are by no means scientific. The best way to identify is to do a specific survey to identify the level of stress that is prevalent in the organization.
Dealing With the Employee Financial Stress
Once you identify that there is stress, then what should be done? If you are concerned about the employees’ well-being and wish to help, an expert needs to be called in.
The SEBI-registered firm, ArthaYantra offers the exact solution by providing a special initiative for corporates. We employ a scientific way in identifying the stress levels, and run a personalized program within the organization. As a part of the program, the employees are made aware of the issues and then offered assistance in leading a better life with right financial decisions.
Employer’s Aid – Employee Financial Wellness
As an employer, you cannot fund or resolve all your employees’ personal finance issues. But you can help them combat financial stress by getting an employee financial wellness program in place via fiduciary advisors like ArthaYantra.
With ArthaYantra FOR CORPORATE, the employer can identify the stress levels, have a specific program designed to address the queries and worries of the employees. The program enables implementation at the fraction of the cost it would otherwise take to replace the unhappy, stressed employees. This key transformation initiative enables corporates to retain, nurture and engage top talent.
Secure your place in the successful companies list by helping your employees with Financial Wellness Program.
