The connection between financial wellness and health can have benefits for your employees and your business.
Saving and investing for retirement, preparing for major life changes, and providing financial guidance and education along the way can have a substantial impact on both your and your employees’ health. Here’s why.
Stress impacts everything
When you or your employees are stressed; productivity, health and overall well-being can suffer.
There’s a direct link with high financial stress and physical ailments like headaches, ulcers, depression and other issues. In the UK, stress-related illness-related inpatient hospital admissions cost approximately £8.13 billion. Everyone’s ability to handle stress varies, emphasising the need for an individual approach to stress management within organisations.
Living well, longer
Generally speaking, the healthier you are, the longer you can expect to live. It’s an optimal outcome of physical wellness, but it does require extra attention to long-term savings and retirement planning. Your employees may not be thinking about this but showing them that you are and providing retirement planning options demonstrates a commitment to their lives as a whole.
Unlock their potential
Reducing financial stress by providing retirement planning, financial wellness programs, and support when buying a house or making major life decisions can pay off in the long run.
Helping younger staff manage or pay off student debt can play a pivotal role in where they choose to work. Employees who feel they are supported tend to be more loyal – and outperform.
So how can you provide all this when you may not have the knowledge or the time?
Make a road map
Start by understanding the landscape and study your employee demographics. What financial milestones might they be pursuing at their stage of life? Consider sending out a short, anonymous survey to find out what goals they might like help with.
Create a toolbox
What tools do you have at your disposal to help employees with their financial lives and well-being? From retirement plans to special relationships with a bank for mortgages, bonuses or maybe even discounts at local businesses – these all fall under the financial wellness umbrella.
The cost of living increased sharply across the UK in the past few years, affecting the affordability of goods and services. Therefore, find out if a goal setting exercise, budgeting and other financial basics would be a key benefit for your employees. Be creative and trying to provide what your employees have expressed interest in.
Next steps
- Reach out to your employees one on one or through a survey to find out what parts of the financial picture they’d like to learn about.
- Map out how you can help your employees with their financial goals.
- Solicit feedback from your employees.
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