#1 63% of employees feel more stressed about their finances
t's been a wild year for our personal finances.
2022 and 2023 have brought a variety of macroeconomic factors that are contributing to our financial stress—and that means that nearly 2/3 of your team is feeling the pinch in their personal financial lives.
Just read a few of these recent headlines:
In the thick of running a business, it can be easy to be so focused on revenues, costs, budgets, and other company performance metrics that we can overlook the elephant in the room: the personal finances of our team.
Spoiler alert, these macroeconomic factors, and resulting money stress are having meaningful impacts on your team—at home and at work.
The first step to solving any problem is admitting it exists. CEOs and HR leaders aware of this reality can turn their attention to doing something about it.
#2 73% of employees say money is their biggest stressor
That's right, more stressful than politics, work, or family.
The downstream impacts of this stress are no joke. One recent study found that the biggest impacts of financial stress are on mental health, sleep, and self-esteem.
In short, more money stress means more employees struggling to bring their best, most productive selves to work.
#3 1 in 4 workers have no retirement savings
Even among those employees that do have some retirement savings, only 36% feel as though they are on track for retirement.
With so many urgent business cares, too few business leaders are thinking about employee retirement. Not only does this looming insecurity weigh on employees' concerns about their finances, but it means employees are working later in their careers. That means paying higher salaries for longer, and it can be a drag on a business. Helping people craft a path toward retirement isn't just the right thing to do—it's in the best interest of the business.
#4 39% of people spend over 3 hours a week on personal finances at work
Stress about money doesn't stop at the door to the office. Employees are bringing their stress into the workplace and their to-dos. With the prevalence of remote work increasing over the last few years, it's easy to see how employees could be spending valuable work hours attending to their personal finances.
Add up this direct productivity loss, and for just one employee making $75,000, it equates to over $5,600. Now add in the mental strain of financial stress multiplied by your whole workforce. Even just some back-of-the-napkin math quickly reveals the massive drain on productivity that comes when employees have unhealthy financial lives.
#5 Financially stressed workers are 2x more likely to be job-hunting
Financially stressed employees are 38% more likely to be job-searching, while only 16% of workers without money stress were on the prowl for a new role.
The war for talent is real out there. Retaining quality employees is a challenge in almost every major industry—and personal finances have a big impact on an employee's propensity to start shopping job sites for a new gig.
Higher salaries aren't the only way to retain employees, financial stress permeates across salary bands. Employers that help their teammates address the root causes of money stress and build true financial wellness have the opportunity to foster long-term employee loyalty.
Bonus Stat -> 68% of employees are more likely to stay at a job with financial wellness benefits
More and more forward-thinking employers across the U.S. are supporting employees through their personal money challenges with a financial wellness benefit.
Your Money Line, is a leading financial wellness benefit provider. Built on 20+ years of workplace financial wellness experience from our CEO, Peter Dunn (aka Pete the Planner), we guide thousands of employees to healthier financial lives each year.