When it comes to financialaffairs, most of us echo the sentiment expressed by J. WellingtonWimpy in the old Popeye cartoons. (Photo: Shutterstock)

“I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburgertoday.” When it comes to financial affairs, most of usecho the sentiment expressed by J. Wellington Wimpy in the oldPopeye cartoons. We look for gratification today at the expense ofour future.

Financial wellness is one of the most talkedabout emerging employee benefits, so we started doing some researchinto the opportunity with our employer advisory panel. We foundthat in the abstract, everyone agreed that financial wellness is agood idea. But when we dug deeper, we found there was little consensus about the definition of asuccessful financial wellness program.

Related: How to design financial wellness benefits that arerelevant to employees

Marty Traynor is vice presidentof voluntary
benefits at Mutual of Omaha.

Reducing employee stress is one of the key functions of employee assistance programs (EAPs), so Idiscussed financial wellness services with Nancy Cannon, manager ofour EAP. Nancy observed that financial wellness is attractive andvaluable to both employers and employees. Employers benefit byhaving more productive employees due to reduced financial stress onboth employees and their family members. Workplace distractions andpresenteeism are reduced. “Employees withfinancial issues can really struggle at work, sapping their ownfocus, spending valuable work time focused on their problems, andharming workplace culture,” Cannon said.

Many of the issues presented to EAP counselors are rooted infinancial challenges. Calls for assistance tend to be described assomething else—marital issues, family discord, substance misuseissues and so on. But once counselors begin discussing the problemwith the member, financial issues might emerge as a majorunderlying driver. For example, an employee having performanceissues or absenteeism may be having problems paying for necessitieslike transportation and child care.

Financial wellness initiatives are designed to help peoplechange their financial behavior, but that takes time and commitmentby both employers and members. There are two challenges asuccessful financial wellness program must address: utilization andengagement.

In building utilization, the privacy of the program isimportant. Employees will be much more likely to use the program ifthey feel safe, knowing their identity and information isconfidential.

Employees don't want their employer to know they have financialtrouble. Utilization can be built by education and awarenessprograms generated by a collaboration between the benefit providerand the employer. Topics should be relevant to the variety ofgenerations in the workforce, from college loan management topre-retirement planning and everything in between. A successfulprogram should have videos, calculators, personal stories,whitepapers and coaching options available online, via mobile,telephonic or face-to-face access.

Employees stay engaged when they can see progress and smallsuccesses. Gamified contests with employer-funded incentives canraise awareness and provide regular wins that urge users tocontinue. Building financial wellness will not take placeovernight. Paying back college loans, reducing credit card debt,learning to budget effectively, and saving for the future all cantake a great deal of time.

In closing, Nancy Cannon observed, “Employers need to understandthe impact our 'buy now-pay later' culture can create. Implementinga financial wellness program is virtually no risk for eitheremployer or employee and each has a lot to gain.”

Hungry for more?

• 10 findings on employee financialwellness
• Poor engagement hinders financial wellnessprograms' value
• 5 financial wellness trends to watch in2018