Financial health has become a growing challenge for the American population. Two-thirds of Americans have difficulty coming up with $1,000 to cover an emergency, 29 percent of adults know someone who delayed the purchase of a home due to student loan debt and only 49 percent of employees are confident they’ll be able to retire when they want, according to a PwC survey.

In the past, financial stress wasn’t widely discussed in the workplace, but employers are beginning to pay attention as it directly impacts retirement, physical wellness, absenteeism, presentism and productivity. In fact, up to 80 percent spend time on the clock stressing about their personal financial situations. The financial pressure placed on employees in the modern workforce causes stress, but employers have an opportunity to address it in a sustainable way to build a happier, more productive workforce.

Employers have done some work around financial wellness, but largely in the form of one-off lunch-and-learn sessions, webinars and guest speakers. While informative and nice to offer, these tools aren’t having the desired, immediate impact nor are they sustainable. They have the right intentions, but don’t get the results.

Most employees that attend do so because they’re worried about a specific personal situation, but the lessons or guidance don't stick and aren’t ongoing, so they don’t make long-term decisions or lifestyle changes. To truly make a change, employers must put more into financial wellness.

The labor market remains highly competitive and employee benefits are a differentiator. Offering more than the average number and core health benefits can give employers an edge in recruiting and retaining employees. Additionally, ROI of financial wellness benefits is not as difficult to trace as employers may think. There are clear ties to retirement and health care cost savings as well as increased employee productivity and performance.

So, what’s the solution for employers? To treat financial wellness as an ongoing engagement rather than ad-hoc effort.

To help employees improve their financial standing, the first step is often to educate; make them aware. People want to do the right thing (like put money away for retirement), but they may not understand where to start or what steps to take. Offering financial wellness tools that track an employee’s goals, budget and accounts are important in building awareness.

Additionally, employees will not engage in the long-term unless the solution is personalized for their unique situation. Individualized, unbiased coaching is also critical to help employees understand their situation and options, and overcome instant gratification to save money to meet these goals. Employers that implement a long-term, sustainable program will achieve the highest ROI and the happiest employees.

From an employee’s perspective, learning about and then implementing steps to positively impact financial well-being is a lot like learning to play basketball. You could learn to shoot a basketball or play the game by reading a book or attending seminars, but you won’t absorb the information. Basketball is a game learned by consistent, long-term practicing and engaging with a coach. It’s perfected by making it part of your life. The same goes for a person looking to lose weight. They couldn’t do so through reading about it online or listening to someone else speak on the topic.

When employees have the tools to tackle finances directly, true behavior change will occur and be sustained over their lifetime.

Most employers are aware of their employees’ financial stresses – to some degree or another – but their solutions are outdated and rudimentary, not for lack of caring but from a lack of specific benefits tools and direction.

The true key to financial wellness is sustainability and building good, long lasting financial discipline. As benefits programs evolve further and further into “total benefits” (or thinking holistically about health, wellness and finance), financial wellness, with its clear need and positive impact, is a voluntary benefit worth consideration. By modernizing the way employers think about financial wellness benefits and transforming them into a formal benefit – with tools and structure – they have a great opportunity to make a difference in the lives of their employees and differentiate their own employer brand along the way.

Instant Insights /

Why financial wellness needs to be an ongoing effort

More From HR Executive

Related Stories

Recommended For You