By: Laura Walton AFC®
Two-thirds of professionals in human resources say personal finances are having an effect on their employees at work…
The effects? Absenteeism, turnover and lost productivity according to the Society for Human Resource Management.
Aon Hewitt, a global human resource consulting firm, tells the story:
- American companies lose more than $300 billion a year due to stressed employees at work.
- 85% of employees report at least some level of financial stress.
- 97% of employees admit that they thought about or dealt with their personal finances during work time.
- 40% of employees wish their employer cared more about their financial well-being.
- The return on investment for financial wellness programs is between $1 to $3.
Aon Hewitt goes on to say that companies who invest in their people, manage them well and contribute to their overall state of wellbeing achieve double the revenue growth of other companies, and 9 per cent more profit per employee.
That’s no doubt the incentive behind the efforts of employers to ramp up their financial wellness programs – see below:
SURVEY RESPONSES FROM 250 EMPLOYERS REPRESENTING 6 MILLION EMPLOYEES | Already offer the topic | Moderately likely to add in 2015 | Very likely to add in 2015 |
Saving for Life Stages | 22% | 45% | 15% |
Budgeting | 26% | 48% | 13% |
Debt Management | 25% | 44% | 9% |
Financial Planning | 29% | 49% | 23% |
Health Care Planning | 32% | 44% | 38% |
Basics of Financial Markets | 41% | 54% | 27% |
Source: Hot Topics Retirement 2015, www.aon.com |
A priority of the TCI Foundation is to provide just this sort of financial education; in fact, we’ve begun working with several employee groups. Consider the Foundation as a resource if your employer is committed to a financial wellness program in your workplace.