Written by Reality HR & Geoff Day | 9th February 2023

Co-authored by Reality HR and Geoff Day, Wilcox Day Wealth Management

People in the UK are now more worried about their finances than catching Covid, research from University College London shows – a statistic which may have looked different just a year ago.

Since then we’ve seen employers step up to the plate when it comes to supporting employee wellbeing, but now the same attention needs to be given to their financial wellbeing – one in 10 have even missed work because their financial worries have affected their mental health.

While you may want to offer to ‘pay more’, this is not viable for most businesses, and you can support your people in other ways that could possibly ease the burden of the cost of living crisis.

Here are a few suggestions…

Normalise conversations around money

To encourage employees to access help when they need it, your line managers should open the conversation around money issues.

Mental health and financial wellbeing are intrinsically linked, so your managers may already know how to spot the signs stress and poor mental health. You should encourage them to use these skills to talk to employees openly about their financial wellbeing.

Also, by increasing managers’ awareness of workplace poverty and how it can affect people’s lives through training, they’ll be better placed to communicate with their teams. These conversations could happen through surveys, polls and 1:1 meetings.

Bear in mind that every employee’s financial circumstances are personal, and many people will be reluctant to talk. Employees will only confide in their managers about their financial worries if they can trust them to be non-judgmental and helpful.

Give employees a financial education

Money is a stressful issue for many. With the challenges around mortgage rates, rising inflation, political uncertainty and a deluge of negative press this can all be overwhelming and lead to increased absence and retention issues if employees feel they cannot cope.

If you help to educate your employees to deal with their money matters, then this is likely to lead to a less stressed and more productive workforce.

A way to help employees could be through a financial education program, that helps to increase their knowledge of how to be more resilient with their finances. Nearly half of people in the UK (44%) say they would be in better shape financially if they were taught how to manage their budgets and bills.

Create a financial wellbeing policy

In 2021, CIPD reported that half of employers (49%) didn’t have a financial wellbeing policy. This may not have been top of the agenda at the time, but we now see a growing need for a policy to support employees.

A financial wellbeing policy can assist with creating an open and supportive workplace where your managers and employees can discuss any issues, and ensure the available resources are known about and offered to employees when needed.

It can be as a simple as signposting to independent money and debt advice, offering access to loans or running workshops.

A financial wellbeing policy could include:

  • Signposting to financial wellbeing advice, such as the resources available from Citizens Advice, The Debt Advice Foundation or Mental Health & Money Advice
  • Targeted financial education support
  • A revised benefits packages to include finance-friendly initiatives such as giving employees the option to choose how often they are paid
  • Giving people security over their hours
  • How you will help employees progress into higher-paid roles
  • Committing, where possible to paying all employees at least the Real Living Wage

Support employee progression

For someone with financial worries, a route to progress out of a low paying job can be light at the end of a tunnel. People need a clear path to follow, access to the right training and a supportive line manager.

According to the CIPD’s latest Reward Management survey, more than half of employees say that it is important to them to be able to “develop and progress my career and increase my future pay”, but only one in five (20%) say their employer explains what they need to do to earn more money.

We recommend promoting a culture of learning, showing people of all ages and stages of their careers a clear path to progression if they want it. Invest in targeted training and development to help people fulfil their potential – we offer many courses at Reality HR for management and team members.

Being inclusive is important here – ensure people who work flexibly or outside of the workplace are not overlooked for development.

Line managers should set aside time for development conversations and encourage employees to speak openly about their long-term ambitions so they can identify the steps they need to take to reach their goals.

As an employer, you can help support the financial wellbeing of your workforce, by introducing new processes or resources that build financial resilience, creating a culture of support and providing essential help should employees need it.

For more information about Wilcox Day Wealth Management, you can visit www.wilcoxday.co.uk.

At Reality HR we can support you with building a financial wellbeing policy and training your managers to create an open and supportive workplace. Just get in touch with us to find out more about any of our HR Outsouring services at info@realityhr.co.uk.