Is poor employee financial wellbeing costing your business?

Why supporting employees’ financial wellbeing is good business

Employers have many legal responsibilities when it comes to taking care of their employees’ superannuation, but what about considering their wider financial wellbeing, or lack thereof? How might this impact on the productivity and profitability of your business?

While employers have no legal obligation to consider employees’ general financial wellbeing, recent research conducted by QSuper revealed that supporting employees in this way is likely to add value to your business.

The survey¹ of more than 3,500 workers sought to understand what their major financial concerns were, whether these affected their capacity to work efficiently and how employers could help address these.

The results of the survey formed the QSuper Financial Wellbeing in the Workplace Report, August 2019. It revealed that an overwhelming 95% of respondents admitted to having at least one area of financial concern in their lives.

And what’s more telling is that the report found almost 47% of all workers spent over three hours a week worrying about their finances at work.

Workers' top financial concerns

When it comes to money worries, the survey revealed that nearly 65% of employees said they were most concerned about the rising age of retirement and exactly how they would fund the lifestyle they want when it came time to retire.

Workers were also extremely concerned about the rising cost of healthcare and how they would be able to afford it. They also spend time worrying about insurance costs and changes to the Age Pension entitlements and eligibility rules.

The cost of petrol and the amount of superannuation they do or don’t have was also causing real angst for workers of all ages.

How workers' financial worries affect businesses

Full-time employees spend a lot of time at work, so it makes sense that they may inadvertently bring their concerns with them.

In addition, nearly one-third of respondents admitted that financial stress was impacting their ability to sleep. A further 34% said they actually worked hard to avoid thinking about their finances because it caused them such distress.

As well as potentially reducing productivity, if an employee’s mind isn’t 100% on the task at hand it may lead to inaccuracies or inefficiencies. Inattention could also increase a worker’s chance of having an injury or accident, or a deterioration of their mental health.

Supporting your employees’ financial wellbeing is one way to show you put your people first, while also improving productivity and workplace morale.

How a great super fund can benefit business

Just as it’s important that employers ensure their workers are supported in their physical and mental health, through flexible working hours, counselling services and even gym memberships, supporting employees’ financial wellbeing is good business.

Having good financial wellbeing means your employees can feel confident about lifestyle and financial choices now in order to feel secure about their future. Whereas those with poor financial wellbeing feel more insecure about and unsure about their future.

The QSuper survey also asked respondents whether they’d be open to receiving some help or support in regard to their financial wellbeing.

About two-thirds of workers said they would welcome their employer providing access to financial education and wellbeing programs, with almost half of all respondents stating that such an offer would raise their opinion of their organisation if this were offered.

Providing financial wellbeing support for staff

Survey respondents were asked if they had received, or been offered, any financial wellbeing support from their employer. About 38% of workers said their employer was already providing them with assistance in this area.

Of those workers who did attend a financial education activity, or event organised by their employer in the past year, 78% said they felt more positive.

Looking deeper into the positives, the report found 31% of workers felt more positive about their financial future, 25% felt more in control of their current finances, and 22% said they had made positive changes in their finances as a result of receiving help from their employer.

A further 22% said being offered financial wellbeing support from their employer allowed them to set clearer goals for their future.

Workplace finance programs for staff

QSuper’s free comprehensive workplace seminar program covers a range of finance topics to suit employees at any stage in their career, from those just starting out, to older workers nearing retirement age. These talks usually last between 15 and 60 minutes depending on the topic being discussed.

Easy super online tools and resources

QSuper also has a number of online tools and resources that employees can utilise. These include informative videos, a range of useful calculators and articles on industry news.

Don't fear finance

QSuper works with employers to offer superannuation education for employees that may actually help improve their feelings about their financial future and have a tangible benefit on their finances.
Speak to a QSuper Business Development Manager to learn more about our financial wellbeing resources and how we can tailor these to your specific workplace.

 

---

1. Survey of 3,554 Queensland-based workers conducted in July & August 2019 by Ipsos, commissioned by QSuper.