Financial stress in the workplace isn’t good for employee wellbeing. Therefore, employee wellbeing initiatives should address financial stress. Ta da! A simple theorem we can all understand.
Yet, while financial wellness and employee financial literacy programmes are gathering momentum in Ireland, they’re not always understood as part of the bigger picture. They can be seen as a side offering that stands apart from the core employee wellness objectives of a company.
Employee wellness programmes that fail to address financial wellbeing initiatives as part of a core holistic approach are missing a trick. Financial wellness is intertwined with all other aspects of physical, mental and nutritional health. So, in this article I want to show you how addressing financial wellness can be the final jigsaw piece that completes your employee wellness programme.
Employee Wellbeing in Ireland
Like many countries in recent times, Ireland has embraced the whole area of employee wellness with open arms. It’s a smart move after all, because happy employees make for happy companies.
A sure sign of the rising employee wellness trend is the launch of the KeepWell Mark by the Irish Business and Employers’ Confederation (IBEC) on the 20th September 2017. In essence, this is a quality assurance mark for companies that make their employees’ wellbeing a priority. This is a fantastic development and I’m in no doubt it will help to further promote the uptake of employee wellness policies by companies in Ireland.
Common employee wellness initiatives include Healthy Eating Initiatives, Quit Smoking Sessions, Get Fit Challenges, Mental Health Awareness and Stress Management Supports.
Managing and reducing stress is in fact central to the employee wellness mantra. But the simple truth is that stress and indeed wellness does not occur in isolated pockets. How we feel physically, mentally and socially can be affected by financial stress.
Organisations therefore need to understand what exactly financial stress is, and to think about financial stress in tangent with other aspects of personal health.
How does financial wellness intercede with physical and mental health?
There are two ways to look at this. The first being that financial stress can cause physical and mental health issues. On the other hand, physical and mental health issues can be exacerbated by deferring treatment due to financial malaise.
Let’s look at each in turn.
Financial Stress Impacts Physical and Mental Health
The connection between employee financial health and physical and mental health is stress.
The American Psychological Association’s 2016 Stress in America Report found that 67% of those surveyed revealed that money is a somewhat or very significant source of stress. This was up 2% from 2015. Conversely, the Association found that a rise in stress has led to a rise in “stress-related symptoms and poor health.”
As a Financial Wellness Consultant this is a problem I’ve encountered over and over again. Our customers regularly blame financial malaise for stress-related health conditions. They’ll say, for example, that worrying about their financial situation causes tummy upsets or brings on migraines. Like any other type of stress financial stress can provoke physical symptoms.
Mental health is also a concern. As I wrote about recently, studies have shown that the symptoms of financial stress are akin to those of post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that can have a detrimental impact on one’s personal wellbeing and should not be taken lightly. You can read more about financial stress here.
Physical and Mental Health Issues are affected by financial decision-making
Compounding the problem that employee financial stress poses for an employee’s physical health is the financial cost of healthcare. Some individuals will avoid treatment or health-care check-ups in order to avoid costs. In such cases employees run the risk of escalated health problems further down the line or a missed early stage diagnosis.
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘a stitch in time saves nine’. Well it’s never truer than when it comes to our health.
Not confronting one’s financial situation or ignoring physical symptoms in the interest of one’s financial circumstances are equally poor responses. In the long-term such actions will impact negatively on a person’s overall wellbeing.
What’s the Answer?
As you can see the problem is an over-arching one and not isolated to one specific issue. The best response is to treat wellbeing holistically and that means addressing all aspects of a person’s health – physical, mental, nutritional and financial – as interwoven and overlapping concerns.
Employers who provide employees with financial wellness programmes can help to reduce the negative impact that financial stress can have on an employee’s physical and mental health.
Conversely, educating employees on financial matters such as lifestyle budgeting, health insurance and financial best practices will help to prevent adverse decision making related to health.
Choosing to include financial wellness in your employee wellbeing policy completes the overall wellness picture for employees. And If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times – happy employees make for happy employers. If you want to read more about the benefits that providing employee financial literacy and wellness initiatives have for employers go ahead and check out this article.
Thank You!
Thanks for taking the time to read this article. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them as a reply below. I’m always happy to hear from readers and looking for new topics to delve into.
In the meantime, why not sign up to our Employee Financial Wellness Newsletter for in depth guides and bonus tips.
