Employers fail without financial wellness benefits

Financial wellness benefits are a must-have for employers addressing workplace stress and productivity challenges during COVID-19.

Ninety percent of employers say that financial wellness benefits have positively impacted their workforce, according to a study by SmartDollar, a financial wellness program. Benefits that address financial stress are the number one priority for employers looking to expand what they offer employees.

More than three quarters of employees struggle with their finances and live paycheck to paycheck. Those money woes can seep into the workplace: stress, poor health and employee turnover result in high costs for employers.

Read more: Prudential wellness benefit tackles employees’ COVID-related stress

“Those money problems follow people to work, leading to more problems,” Brian Hamilton, senior vice president of SmartDollar, said in a statement. “Employers are uniquely positioned to help. If done correctly, there is no doubt financial wellness is good for employees and great for the bottom line.”

Eighty-one percent of employers have seen improvements in their teams since offering financial wellness programs and 88% say their employees have reported less stress, according to the survey. Over 90% of employers say the benefits make them more attractive to prospective employees.

“Your employees are spending time during working hours on personal finances because they’re stressed,” says Mike Nannini, head of client management, business development and industry engagement at UBS. “Anything you can do to put their minds at ease, and help them take control of their situation, is going to boost productivity and morale.”

The COVID crisis has been a stress test for employees and they’re turning to their employers for help. Sixty-two percent of employers feel "extremely" responsible for their employees' financial wellness during the pandemic, according to Bank of America.

Employers like Prudential, FinFit, Gusto and Voya have all expanded their financial wellness benefits to offer early wage access, financial education programs and student loan repayment. Investing in these programs now can help employees — and businesses — succeed long-term.

“You have to weigh the cost. What’s more expensive for your business: The price of adding financial wellness to your benefits package or the price of a team that’s struggling with money?” Hamilton says. “When you provide a financial wellness benefit that actually works, your employees stop bringing their money baggage through your company’s front door.”

As employers contemplate post-COVID plans, benefits that boost morale, increase productivity and improve engagement are top of mind. Ninety-four percent of employers said it’s beneficial to their business when employees have healthy personal finances.

“Your employee benefits package just isn’t complete without financial wellness,” Hamilton says. “It’s the boost to the bottom line from higher productivity, lower employee turnover, reduced absenteeism and lower health care costs. When you can get positive results for both employees and the business, that’s return on investment.”