Doubling down on financial wellness: The key to winning the talent war?

There's a disconnect between financial help employees say they need and what they say employers are doing –-despite its importance to employees, just 13% of workers report their employer has introduced such policies.

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Employers might say financial stress is best left outside the workplace, but that could be impossible for employees. A recent online survey of 1,210 American workers by insurance tech company YuLife, Stress to Success: Why financial wellness is the next frontier in employee benefits, suggests that a full 70% of employees say financial stress hurts their workplace productivity, while 32% of workers report financial stress strains their mental and physical health. Some two-thirds of employees said they were more likely to apply to a job if a company indicated a willingness to support their financial wellbeing.

The trend is especially noticeable amongst younger workers, with 42% of 18 to 24-year-olds and 37% of 25 to 34-year-olds reporting financial stress hurts their mental and physical health. Moreover, 66% of workers aged 18 to 24 believe that one’s employer is responsible for supporting their finances beyond just providing a salary, compared to 45% of working adults overall.

“More and more companies are introducing robust wellness initiatives, which should always be accompanied by programs designed to improve employees’ financial health,” Sammy Rubin, CEO and Founder of YuLife, said in a press release about the survey. “This survey demonstrates that employers have the power to make the difference and inspire employees to lead a better life, especially in times of economic uncertainty. As the younger generations begin to join the workforce, having a healthy workspace, both mentally and financially, is crucial, and businesses which prioritize employee health will reap the benefits by being able to attract, retain, and engage top talent.”

Related: Financial wellness benefits: A Q&A with Mike Wilbert

But despite the apparent importance of financial wellbeing, just 13% of workers report their employer has introduced a comprehensive set of such policies.

“There is a tremendous need in the area of financial wellbeing, and there does appear to be a disconnect between what employees say they need and what they say employers are doing,” noted Senior Workforce Solutions Specialist at TrueNorth Companies, Tim O’Neil, in the report. “People are a company’s most important asset. Your workforce is probably the largest investment a company will make every single year.”

He notes, too, “The most important thing you can do as an employer is understand that doing nothing is also a choice and does have a cost.”

Key strategies, the report suggests, to boost financial wellbeing include:

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