The world itself is chaotic – in addition to work being chaotic – and people value whatever support they can find even more than before. We're all dealing with so much variability and change that the workplace being a source of security is a higher value than ever before.

According to a TIAA Financial Wellness Survey (2022) conducted earlier this year, almost 45% of Americans don't have access to an emergency savings fund for six months. That's 45% of Americans who aren't financially equipped to deal with a natural disaster, or house fire, among other events. These are the kinds of things that no one wants to imagine happening to them, but the reality is that they just might.

Now with record-high inflation, greater job insecurity, and increasingly common and catastrophic natural disasters, employers are stepping up to the plate to provide employees with a financial safety net at no cost to the individual: an emergency fund via grants by the employer. And, like many other employer offerings, this isn't necessarily just a perk of the job – it's an expectation.