The Average Employee Turnover Rate in 2021 Was a Painful 47.2%
Employees everywhere are facing significant challenges when it comes to their finances. People are feeling pressure to meet their day-to-day expenses. Financial stress is affecting employees' mental, physical, emotional, and social health, on a daily basis, which leads to employees' less productivity at work, faster burnout, and higher turnover.
In return, employers face low retention rates, high turnover rates, and ultimately losing money. Financial stress costs companies $4.7 billion per week.
Even more unsettling is that 80% of the US workforce is living paycheck to paycheck, and four out of ten can’t handle an emergency that would be a $400 expense. Due to these issues, employees are turning to their employers more than ever for help and guidance. This means employers need to help enhance their employees' financial stability by exploring financial wellness benefit options.
The bottom line is financial instability is affecting the majority of the US workforce today.
Challenges K-12 Institutions Are Facing
According to a Gallup survey, K-12 institutions have the highest burnout rate in the US, when compared with all other industries, and this gap continues to increase. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated burnout in the K12 setting. In the same survey, 44% of K-12 workers said they always or often think about how burned out they are.
Further, school districts across the country are facing a teacher shortage. In 2021, the Illnois Association of Regional School Superintendents found that 88% of school districts statewide were dealing with teacher shortages, and 2,040 teacher openings remained empty or filled with less qualified hires.
In Nevada, 3,000 teaching positions remained unfilled across the state’s 17 school districts as of August 2022, according to the Nevada State Education Association.
In Houston, Texas, 200-1,000 teaching positions are open as of August 2022.
Teaching is a challenging profession and due to the nature of the industry, burnout, high turnover rates, and low retention rates aren’t surprising. Yet, the crisis remains and the future of public education depends on its resolution.
In a Stanford-led study, the research found there’s a link between teachers’ financial anxiety, job performance, and turnover rates. The survey collected data from more than 2,000 San Francisco Unified School District teachers. Teachers earn well above the national average in this area, which means financial stress isn’t just affecting those on the lower end of the pay scale.
According to the survey, teachers face significantly more economic stress than other US workers, and their level of financial anxiety leads them to leave the profession altogether. The survey also revealed that teachers don’t want to leave the industry because they no longer wish to be an educator, but because of financial worries.
48% of SFUSD teachers reported being frequently anxious about their current financial situation.
The survey also found that young teachers were more likely to express financial worries. This could be due to the fact that younger teachers are paid lower wages.
Teachers experiencing money anxiety were more likely to have negative feelings toward their jobs, had worse attendance, and were 50% more likely to leave the school district within 2 years of taking the survey.
Student Debt and How This Affects Your Employees:
Another challenge educators face is student debt. Teachers and staff feel the burden of student loans more because of industry stressors and lower wages paid to educators. They also carry more total debt than the national average.
The National Education Association states:
- 45% of educators have taken out student loans to fund their education, averaging a total of $55,800
- Educators under the age of 35 are more likely to take out loans than educators over the age of 61. 65% of educators under 35 have loans taken out, compared to only 27% of those over 61
- Black educators have significantly more debt than White educators. $68,000 compared to $54,300.
- 98% of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program applications submitted were rejected in 2021
It’s in the best interest of school districts and their employees to put solutions in place to improve employees’ financial well-being.
How Financial Stress Impacts Retention Rates
Addressing financial stress also goes beyond staff and impacts students as well. Studies show that students show lower academic and social performance levels when teachers are stressed. Teacher turnover also negatively impacts students, according to the Economic Policy Insititute. When your teachers are experiencing financial instability, they tend to experience more mental health issues which can create an environment in the classroom that is less conducive to learning for students. Since teachers and school staff play an essential and influential role in kids’ lives, it’s important that they can give their best selves to their students daily.
It’s statistically proven that incorporating wellness benefits into overall benefits packages can reduce teachers’ stress levels, reduce healthcare costs, and reduce teacher absenteeism.
By helping staff, students will succeed as well.
A Financial Wellness Platform Can Help!
A financial wellness program, like Your Money Line, provides many different types of aid specifically for your employees. Every employee under your organization’s umbrella, including classified staff, can receive the benefit our program provides, regardless of eligibility for additional benefits.
Some benefits are:
1. Guidance Through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program
If you’re a public school district, your employees may qualify for PSLF. This government-sponsored program allows borrowers of federal student loans to have their loans forgiven in exchange for work in public service. PSLF can be challenging to understand and navigate, which is why YML provides experts to help guide you through the process.
2. Programming That’s Available When You Need It
Through our platform, employees can access tools, guides, articles, videos, and resources 24/7 because we understand that your employees are busy. Our Financial Guides are available live 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, and respond to emails sent during off hours within 1 business day.
3) One-on-One Coaching and Expert Advice
Our expert guides provide one-on-one coaching for your employees and their unique, confidential situations. They provide guidance and meet you where you’re at with an empathetic approach. They know everyone’s financial situation is different and are there to lend an ear and offer guidance toward the next right step.
YML In Action:
We helped one school district, MSD Wayne Township, forgive an average of $94,900 in student loan debt for their teachers. MSD Wayne Township takes pride in its student population, its facilities, and its staff but they were facing a problem. As the many stressors teaching brought weighed on them more and more, a glimmer of hope appeared through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
However, PSLF is daunting and difficult to navigate, to say the least. That’s where we came in. We partnered with MSD Wayne Township to help their staff forgive their student loans by providing Financial Guides to actively assist teachers in the application process. We trained their HR teams and within days, 119 employees filled out the PSLF application and 46 people had called to start their journey.
“I am proud of the financial support we have been able to give staff with the collaboration with your team and Your Money Line!”
BARRY GARDNER, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, MSD WAYNE TOWNSHIP
What participants Say About YML:
“Stacy has been nothing but OUTSTANDING! She has provided a ton of info and support to my husband and me while walking through PSLF requirements. I know she will always have support and answers for us” Matthew
“Our guide was an absolute delight to speak with. She answered all my questions concerning PSLF and provided helpful insight into my current loan(s) status. I look forward to continuing to work with her. She must be such an asset to Your Money Line. Her personality, industry knowledge, and professionalism are unmatched. I am thankful my employer lead me to her services. The federal loan language can be so confusing” Carol
“Convenient, Friendly, Easy”- Joe
*names have been changed for anonymity
Wawasee School district- Tammy Hutchins
“We have three different ways to help you be a whole person. Your physical health, your mental health, and now your financial health”
- School district was getting financial questions from employees and they saw it as a problem they needed to address to help their teachers
- “This doesn’t cost us anything. It’s a great resource we have. I hope that everyone jumps on and uses it”
- “In order for you to be a good employee you need to be healthy. Mentally healthy, financially healthy. It all works together to make you a good employee”
- “We need to take care of our employees”
Contact us here to learn more about how we can help your teachers and school staff. You can call us at , email us at info@yourmoneyline.com, or fill out our demo form.