Reframe workplace wellness programs: Focus on employee debt, financial stress

Finances are the biggest contributor to a decline in well-being, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, which provided an update on the state of wellness in the workplace in a recent webinar.

“I found it astounding that 60% of employees are moderately or highly concerned about their financial well-being, up from 49% a year ago,” said Sandy McCarthy, president of retirement services for OneAmerica Financial Partners and webinar moderator. “Add to that the fact that nearly 50% of employees are highly or moderately concerned about their emotional or physical well-being, and I am sure you are on the same page with me that this is concerning.”

“The majority rates their overall health, emotional well-being and mental health as excellent or very good,” said Gina Scime, director of health and benefits for Greenwald Research. “But we see a deterioration in this year’s results in how they rate their finances. Employees said the top causes of their financial stress are saving enough for retirement, having emergency savings and paying their monthly bills.”

Related: Financial wellness training: A powerful move with a positive impact on employees

EBRI’s 2022 Workplace Wellness Survey examined worker attitudes toward employment-based benefits in the workplace, as well as a broad spectrum of financial well-being, employment-based health insurance and retirement benefit issues. Among the key findings:

Most employees are concerned about their household’s financial well-being, and the overwhelming majority describe their level of debt as a problem. As McCarthy pointed out, six in 10 employees are at least moderately concerned about their household’s financial well-being, which increased by 11 points since 2021. About half of employees are concerned about their emotional and physical well-being.

Employees agree that their employers have a responsibility to ensure they are physically, emotionally and financially well. Three in four employees agree that their employers have a responsibility to make sure employees are mentally healthy and emotionally well (77%) and healthy and physically well (74%). Two-thirds feel the same about their employer’s responsibility to ensure employees are financially secure and well.

Health insurance and retirement savings plans are the most common employee benefits and are the top benefits for employee retention/recruitment and financial security. Four in ten employees are extremely or very satisfied with their benefits package, which is 7 points lower than in 2021.

Most employees have a high level of understanding about their health benefits. Half of employees rate their employer’s communications about health insurance and health care as excellent or very good. Less than half rate communications about online resources about benefits at the same level.

Workplace flexibility, work-life balance, paid time off and leave benefits are important to employees. Most believe teleworking has positively affected their well-being. Four in 10 employees describe the work-life balance at their company as excellent or very good, which has decreased significantly since 2021. Another 36% rate it as good, and 25% rate it as fair or poor.

Most employees agree that balancing work and caregiving is challenging, but few employees report access to caregiving benefits. A quarter of employees report that their employer offers subsidized or complimentary child care or daycare. Among those with access, 65% of employees have used it. Among those without access, 44% are interested in having the benefit available.

Half of employees are satisfied with their current retirement benefits, and most are satisfied with the contributions received from their employer. Seven in 10 employees said they currently are offered a retirement savings plan. Half of employees are extremely or very satisfied with their current retirement benefits, and nearly six in 10 understand their retirement benefits extremely or very well.

Fewer than half of employees said they are offered a financial wellness program at work. More than four in 10 employees said their employer offers the opportunity to participate in a financial wellness program. When one is offered, six in 10 have participated.

Most employees believe mental health wellness programs have become more important in the past year. Four in 10 employees rate their employer’s communications about mental health and work-life balance as excellent or very good over the past year.

Most employees remain satisfied with their current job despite decreases in satisfaction with their benefits package and work-life balance. Six in 10% are extremely or very satisfied with their current job, which is consistent with the 2021 findings.

Takeaways from LGBTQ employees

The 2022 survey was overweighted on LGBTQ employees to better understand this sector of the workforce. “We found no difference between LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ workers on a lot of questions, but we also found many differences,” said Paul Fronstin, director of health benefits research for EBRI.

The three most significant findings were that LGBTQ workers were:

• Less likely to be satisfied with their job;
• Less likely to be satisfied with their employee benefits and paid leave; and
• About as likely as non-LGBTQ employees to be satisfied with the mix of employee benefits and wages.

An important takeaway from the latest research is that financial well-being in the workplace is inextricably linked to physical and mental well-being.

“What we need to do is focus on not one component but the holistic component to be able to make a difference,” McCarthy said. “The good news is that employees are seeing that their employers are responding.”