by Abby Doan
As employee benefits continue to shift due to the impact of COVID-19, financial wellness strategies are climbing the priority list for post-pandemic benefits.
How has the pandemic impacted employees' financial standing?
The financial and mental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused mass resignations, making it increasingly difficult for employers to keep employee retention high. 26% of workers are considering quitting their jobs to change companies or industries after the pandemic, according to Prudential's Pulse of the American Worker Survey. Employees have had over a year to reconsider their career paths and work-life balance, so it is not surprising that many have chosen to pursue new opportunities. High-skilled workers, who are the most difficult for employers to replace, tend to have more opportunities available to them and are more likely to change jobs after the pandemic subsides. That being so, employers will have to provide employees with more incentives to stay. Forward-thinking employers will be offering new benefits to employees, creating a surge in recruitment competition in the market.
If you want to bolster employee satisfaction, you can show your returning employees that they are valued by investing in their financial wellness. To do this, employee benefits managers must pivot to financial benefits services that provide employees with immediate and direct assistance. One of the main drivers of employee retention is flexibility.
How does financial wellness increase workplace productivity and reduce presenteeism?
According to a study conducted by Bank of America, 56% of employees are stressed about money management, 53% of employees say that stress interferes with their work, and 83% have agreed that financial benefits are critical to financial security. It’s understandable that employees are looking for plans that will give them more: more financial freedom, more holistic planning, and more retirement and health care savings. Savvy benefits leaders are reimagining financial benefits by taking a holistic approach to financial wellness and giving their employees more control over their planning. Less 401k borrowing is more money saved and less financial stress for employees is more productivity in the workplace. Additionally, higher employee satisfaction and retention will lead to less onboarding, which is more time saved for employers. With a flexible financial wellness plan, you can remove the obstacles to your employees’ full participation in life and work.
What’s the solution?
According to Employee Benefit News (EBN), financial wellness for employees can be characterized by three key concepts: being able to live the lives they’ve earned, having the freedom to fully participate in the economy they helped create, and having the financial flexibility to endure the ups, downs, and unknowns of life. Only one benefit can fulfill all of these concepts, regardless of the other benefits offered in the package: earned wage access. EBN defines earned wage access as “an emerging employee benefit that provides workers on-demand access to wages they have earned but not yet been paid on.”
Employees want to be able to choose when they get paid so that they can be in control of their own lives financially. Platforms like FinFit, a financial wellness benefit platform that provides holistic financial wellness solutions, offer the flexibility that employees are looking for and the simplicity that employers desire.
It’s important for a financial benefit program to provide employees with a sense of security, so they can focus on work without the added stress of unforeseen costs or bad money management.
To search and source solutions like the ones mentioned in this article, visit The Granite List at www.thegranitelist.com
