by Sarah Gunter
Inflation. Recession. These aren’t just trends impacting your business—when the economy is hurting, so are your employees. A recent study found that finances are the number-one source of stress for employees, ranking higher than work, health, and family issues.
The study also found that 1 out of every 5 employees admitted to financial stress impacting their productivity at work. Of these employees, 49% reported spending 3 or more working hours each week thinking about or dealing with issues related to their personal finances. Imagine what the cost of that productivity loss might be over a year, or over multiple years, with multiple employees under financial stress.
Productivity loss isn’t the only way financial stress impacts your employees and your company either. Employees burdened with financial stress are more likely to delay their retirements, have poor relationships with their coworkers, and be actively searching for a higher paying job. That’s why forward-thinking companies are expanding their employee benefits to support financial wellness.
However, many employers don’t know where to start when it comes to tackling their employees’ financial stress. Matt Lubbers, VP of Sales at Your Money Line, explains, “A person's financial stress is so often bucketed alongside mental stress—it's personal, it's uncomfortable to talk about, and so employers do nothing about it.”
Your Money Line is the one-stop shop where it comes to guiding your employees on their journey to financial stability. They know that no two financial journeys are alike—some employees are managing debt, some are trying to afford daycare and save for college tuition, and others are focusing on retirement. By offering a team of financial guides, a customized online dashboard with interactive financial tools, and a comprehensive, ever-growing body of educational content, Your Money Line is able to support employees wherever they are financially.
The financial guides at Your Money Line are Certified Financial Planners and Accredited Financial Counselors who are deeply committed to building relationships with the employees they help. Employees are able to schedule and reschedule meetings with the same guides, which helps them to feel personally cared for. Speaking about her guide, one employee-client says: “Gayle has changed our lives in a matter of not even two months. Since we started, we have made a pretty decent impact on our debt and we’re not fearful for the future. I know it was a miracle she was the person who answered when I called.”
As financial wellbeing can be a sensitive and daunting topic, Your Money Line trains its guides to lead with empathy in order to help employees with whatever is going on in their lives. Another employee-client describes the importance of the personal element of talking with the guides: "Clearly this wasn’t Kristen’s first rodeo. She seemed to know I needed someone to listen, which was true. That was validating. Then that allowed me to settle my worries and struggles to a point that I could hear her direction, encouragement, and my next steps.”
As our understanding of wellness evolves to be more holistic, so does the benefits landscape. Innovative leaders know that supporting the financial health of their employees makes it possible for them to bring their best selves to work every day of the week. One company leader Your Money Line worked with says, “This has been the single most useful tool when it comes to understanding how we can support our employees financially. The monthly webinars also give us content to provide our employees that pertain directly to their financial wellbeing.”
“The reality is - financial health and stability feed heavily into a person's overall wellbeing. We’re encouraging leaders to consider a helpful, simple, straightforward, anonymous, shame-free resource to help your employees get to financial stability,” says Lubbers. For any companies concerned with the current and future state of the economy, now is the perfect time to expand your benefits offerings to include financial wellness.
The Granite List is proud to feature Your Money Line as a benefits solution on our site.