Make Your Employees’ Financial Wellness Your Business

You may think that how your employees spend their paychecks is none of your business, but employee financial wellness can have a major impact on your business. Financial well-being and physical well-being are tightly connected. So, the more stressed your employees are about their personal finances, the more likely their physical health will suffer. And when their health suffers, your business suffers.

Money is a root of much illness. Debt-related stress tops the list of personal anxieties for many, and with stress comes health problems like ulcers, migraines, depression, and even heart attacks. Bad health leads to absenteeism, poor concentration, increased operational risk, and turnover.

You already know that wellness programs benefit employees and the sponsoring company as proven by examples from Sprint and InteliSpend Prepaid Solutions. Offering financial education can significantly improve employee financial wellness. Research shows that employees who participate in intensive financial education designed to help them resolve monetary issues and reduce stress actually become healthier.

Financial education programs contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to a company’s bottom line, generally offering a 3:1 return on investment. As a result of a class one company provided, the company saved 21.57 percent in health care costs for heavy users of the class versus 4.19 percent for non-users.

In addition to financial education, your company should consider adding payroll cards to your benefits package to help your employees organize their finances. Payroll products are a valuable alternative for companies that issue paper checks and offer the underbanked population quick, secure access to their earnings. And for financial emergencies, employees can access earned wages before a scheduled payday.

By and large, making employee financial wellness a priority will help keep your business in good shape.