Stress can have a big impact on all areas of life. Work-related stress can often spill over into our personal lives and vice versa.
It might come as little surprise that financial worries are a big contributor to the level of stress that people feel. A report by the Mental Health Foundation found that 22% of adults who reported stress cited not having enough money to meet basic needs as a source of stress1.
The impact of financial wellbeing on employees
Financial concerns and money worries are incredibly common and something that many people will have experienced at some point in their lives. One survey revealed that 77% of UK residents are stressed about money, with 14% saying that they worry about money every day2.
Employees’ financial wellbeing and money worries are not always confined to their personal lives. The stress and anxiety that it can cause can also affect them at work, whether that’s through lost productivity or absenteeism. One financial wellbeing survey found that 77% of employees say that money worries impact them at work3. Another survey found that the employees who reported having financial worries were 8.8 times more likely to have sleepless nights, 7.6 times more likely to not finish their daily tasks and 5.7 times more likely to have troubled relationships with work colleagues4.
The impact of financial wellbeing on small businesses
As well as having a big impact on employees, poor financial wellbeing can also have a big impact on businesses. The stress caused by money worries can result in employees feeling that they aren’t able to come to work, or not perform at their best if they do decide to go to work. A report by Aegon found that poor financial wellbeing costs UK employers £1.56bn each year through absenteeism and presenteeism5. The same report also found that 500,000 private sector workers have had to take time off in the last year due to their financial wellbeing, leading to a loss of over 4.2 million days of work5.
Small businesses can feel the effects of employee financial wellbeing in a number of different ways that could ultimately have a big impact on the business. A survey found that organisations felt the strain of poor employee financial wellbeing through reduced productivity (22%), loss of talent (22%) and higher short term and long term absences (both 19%)3.