Most Employers Don't Offer Financial Wellness, Lending Solutions
A new survey of economic stress and financial wellness in the American workplace reveals that significantly more employees are living paycheck-to-paycheck, and that financial stress is a substantial and growing contributor to absenteeism and decreased productivity.
The survey, commissioned by FinFit, LLC, a provider of financial wellness solutions, asked business owners and professionals for their views on the financial challenges faced by employees at their companies and the impact with regard to on-the-job performance. It revealed that employers could be doing more to help ease financial pressures on employees. Highlights of the results include:
71 percent of survey respondents said that due to a difficult economy, significantly more employees at their companies are living paycheck-to-paycheck.
86 percent of respondents said financial stress among employees led to absenteeism, decreased productivity, and increased distraction in the past year.
78 percent of respondents said their companies do not currently offer any type of lending program to assist staff when they encounter emergencies. Nearly half believe a program offering financial education and support in the workplace would enable employees to be more productive.
"Even if you're making a decent salary, it is difficult to concentrate on work when you're worrying about how to pay this month's bills, or to find the money to cover a health emergency, a necessary car repair so you can travel to work, or an educational expense for a child," said David Kilby, president of FinFit. "We are seeing more employers recognizing that this is a real issue and as a result, starting to think about possible solutions."
Other key findings include:
79 percent of respondents cited emergency healthcare costs as the top reason behind why companies should provide loans to employees.
69 percent believe employees at their companies would want to participate in a program that would help them pay for healthcare coverage premiums, deductibles, and co-payments, if it were offered.
The online survey, conducted from April 29 to May 2, 2014, gathered responses from 250 business owners and executives at companies with 200-500 employees across the U.S. 63 percent of the respondents hold college or graduate degrees and 75 percent are 45 years of age or older.
