One in four organisations have seen employee health issues arise because of money concerns, yet almost half do not plan to offer any form of financial education.
A survey of 900 employers by financial advice and investment firm Close Brothers Asset Management discovered that 14% of organisations had seen higher absenteeism as a result of poor financial wellbeing among their staff.
Twenty-five percent of those polled said they had seen an increase health problems, which they believed were brought on by employees worrying about their financial situation.
Money worries
A third (34%) said high levels of stress was a direct consequence of staff not having enough savings, including pensions.
Yet almost half (47%) neither offered financial education to staff nor planned to do so.
Among the roughly 20% of those that did, 14% described the service they offered as “limited”.
Thirty-seven percent said financial education helped improve employees’ financial wellbeing; 6% did so to reduce absenteeism; and 17% agreed it would support engagement with the company’s pension scheme.
Jeanette Makings, head of financial education at Close Brothers, said: “Employers are perfectly placed to help their workforce become more confident and competent in financial decision making, in turn having a direct impact on their financial, physical, and emotional wellbeing.
“Those who receive financial education find it useful in guiding their immediate, medium, and long-term saving decisions. This then frees up employees at work to be happier, healthier, and more productive.”
Separate research by financial education service Neyber earlier this year found that 30% of staff were concerned about their current financial situation, while 24% were worried about later life and retirement provision.
Neyber’s research also found only one in 20 workers would talk to their manager about money worries.
Close Brothers said 36% of employers did not offer financial education, but planned to start doing so within three years.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Individual meetings were the most popular method of financial education among those who offered it, with 37% choosing this.
This was followed by group conferences and workshops (35%); webinars (25%) and an online education platform (23%).
