Research reveals urgent need for US businesses to address the financial wellness of their workforces in order to combat a growing productivity problem.

A recent survey carried out by LifeWorks, the mobile-first Employee Engagement platform, has revealed that the average US corporation is losing a staggering $7,000 per employee each year due to its financial disorder and resulting productivity losses. The research, which surveyed 400+ US HR professionals, highlighted that an overwhelming majority (88 percent) see financial wellness as equally important to an individual’s overall well-being as their physical or emotional health, and 79 percent agreed that a financially well employee is also a more productive one. Significantly, almost two thirds (63 percent) of respondents stated that they see the issue of financial wellness as an employer responsibility. 

Despite this, fewer than half of HR professionals (44 percent) said that they had an awareness of which employees within their companies struggle financially, and more than 45 percent admitted that most of their employees would be unable to meet their financial obligations if salary payments were delayed by as little as one week – a clear sign that employers are not equipping workforces with the tools and knowledge needed to effectively self-budget. 

Although financial struggles may be perceived as personal matter, they are clearly affecting the workplace, with 5 out of 10 US HR professionals witnessing employees using work hours to deal with their financial problems. 7/10 HR professionals indicated that personal financial challenges have an impact on overall employee performance. “These findings show that the employer needs to take greater responsibility for the financial health of its employees,” said Jamie True, CEO at LifeWorks. “There is growing recognition that this is a business critical area for HR teams given the direct link between employee financial stress and reduced workplace productivity.” 

True continued: “With only 8 percent of our respondents saying they are trained to understand the signs and symptoms of emotional financial distress, businesses simply are not doing enough to tackle this growing problem at its source. Employers need to be vigilant and recognize the symptoms of financial distress before it impacts negatively on the bottom line, and this requires more training for HR Managers so that they can better leverage financial wellness programs and develop stronger strategies for managing employee stress.” 

Only 37 percent of those surveyed believed their executive leaders are paying attention to this issue of financial wellness. Furthermore, only 19 percent said their executive teams had pledged to increase financial wellness tools and programs in their workplace. “Measuring the dollar value of lost productivity in the workplace should give the HR department convincing data to prompt leaders to act on this matter,” added True.