By Allison Binning
An Education Crisis
In recent years, nearly 23% of people reported losses of $2,500 or more, while 15% admitted to losing more than $10,000 as a result of financial illiteracy. Additional research shows that an individual's financial capability, which is the combination of financial literacy and financial access, can predict their health outcomes. Houston, we have a problem. Chances are that, unfortunately, the same percentage of members on your health plan also grew up without learning crucial skills in budgeting, saving, investing, or building credit. In times of economic uncertainty, financial literacy is vital to combat increased expenses, job losses, and emergencies. Employees with lower income, young employees, and students are at a disadvantage, for these groups receive the least financial education and are most likely to live paycheck-to-paycheck. The results? Take a look at the snapshot below.
- Anxiety or depression
- Relationship problems and social withdrawal
- Physical effects such as headaches, weight loss or gain, heart disease, or high blood pressure.
- Unhealthy coping mechanisms including heavy drinking, abusing prescription or illegal drugs, gambling, and overeating
When an employee is experiencing high levels of stress, do you think they would prefer to: a) open up their latest bill, or b) try to ease their anxieties by putting their financial worries out of sight and out of mind? This cycle traps many employees and prevents them from being healthy, happy, and productive at their job.
Educating Your Workforce
More likely than not, your plan members are struggling to even come to terms with the full weight of their financial burden. And employees that understand their burden don’t even know where to begin to ease their strain. Vendors like BrightDime seek to ease this stress by providing plan members with the support to manage their finances more effectively through coaching, targeted education, and data-driven money tools. Katie Rapley, who leads marketing and client experience for BrightDime, explains the immensity of their stress: “61% of employees are living paycheck to paycheck, and this is a pain point across all income levels, not just low-income earners…Employees are focused on how to provide for their families on a day-to-day basis, so long-term saving and investing is a lower priority. 60% of Americans don’t even have a retirement-specific account.” She notes how little financial literacy is taught in classrooms, so many employees aren’t prepared to make financial decisions as adults. “People make mistakes early on when they don’t know better,” she says, “and then spend years trying to turn things around without access to unbiased expert advice on the best course of action.”
What if they could look to you for help? Many employers are deploying solutions designed to deal with these serious financial issues. And this is the very reason BrightDime arms plan members with financial education through their articles, videos, and live events, along with money tools to help plan members budget, set goals, and understand their net worth. Rapley emphasizes how the BrightDime team seeks to reach plan members individually and provide “empathetic support through unlimited chat-based coaching with financial experts.”
Reaching plan members requires more than simply providing basic financial education– “Our solution is built to meet employees where they are, regardless of what stage they’re at in their financial wellness journey,” Rapley says. They work closely with employers during onboarding, too. “During our onboarding process, we learn how you’re already communicating with employees, and provide you with content to send out through those channels,” says Rapley. “We meet with employers to review aggregate engagement statistics each quarter to assess the organizational impact and to refine future engagement strategies.” To make matters even easier, BrightDime can roll out in just a few weeks with little effort from the employer, meaning your employees can start benefiting from new financial information, whether you have a company of 50 or 50,000.
Empower Your Employees with Financial Literacy
But even without financial instability, many employees struggle to make sense of the complex world of loans, debts, mortgages, and retirement. This is when coaching, like the kind BrightDime offers, can provide guidance to plan members in all stages of their financial lives through these obstacles. Rapley shares one example of a real situation (and a fake name) that plan members could easily be in right now: “Kwan is in the middle of his career. He has this big dream to buy a home but his family is spending more than they’re earning, his credit is poor, and to top it all off, his wife just lost her job. Kwan’s coach worked with him for two years to cut his spending, improve his credit, and ultimately, reach that dream and buy that home.” Not only did BrightDime save Kwan from potential financial instability, but it also helped him achieve his goals.
And just as financial stress lowers employee productivity, BrightDime’s financial education can increase employee productivity once they’ve developed healthier money habits. “73% of Americans say their finances are their #1 source of stress. That stress causes a lot of issues for employers. $1900 is the average cost of lost productivity due to financial stress per employee,” says Rapley. She also adds that “financially stressed employees are 2.2x more likely to leave their company.” Aiding your employees’ financial literacy not only helps them become happier and healthier, but they make your business thrive, too.
One of the hardest parts of financial stress is coming to terms with it. Many isolate themselves and withdraw from friends. They not only need financial advice, but they need someone empathetic who can empower them to achieve their goals. That’s why BrightDime coaches receive empathy and goal-setting training. ‘Our coaches aren’t just financial experts, they’re also trained in empathy and goal setting, allowing them to serve as a support system/accountability buddy in addition to delivering expert advice.” The ultimate goal is to reduce financial stress, and implementing a solution like BrightDime serves plan members through all forms of economic challenges. Many employers are embracing this reality as they attract a diverse workforce needing an array of benefits beyond the standard medical, dental, and vision coverage. “Financial information can feel sterile or intimidating, which is why BrightDime places empathy at the heart of everything we do,” Rapley says. She adds that everything they do at BrightDime “is aligned with helping your employees reduce financial stress and create a sustainable plan for the future.”
Want to provide more financial management resources for your plan members? Learn more about BrightDime’s approach by visiting their website or email dan.comisar@brightdime.com to book a live demo. BrightDime is a verified vendor featured on The Granite List.
