Even smart employers who offer financial wellness benefits for their employees might hit a new challenge: participation in these benefits is not in line with their expectations. One study found that of employees who have access to financial wellness benefits, only 8% said they participated in them. This could be a sign that the employer is not offering the right type of program.

To get the most out of a program, employers need to make sure that their financial wellness offerings check off these boxes.

Employees and employers alike are struggling with inflation. In the past year, wages have increased 4.5% while the cost of our most basic necessities (groceries, rent, gas, and mortgage payments) has risen between 10%-48%. This has put pressure on employers to increase pay or risk losing their employees to competitors. If across-the-board salary increases in line with inflation aren’t in the budget this year, what else can employers do financially to assist their employees? Inflation hits low-wage workers the hardest because there is often little flexibility in their budgets to begin with.

Understanding our personal finances --- how to budget, save, pay off, spend, and invest wisely -- is essential for everyone, including your employees. Financial wellness is a growing concern of employees and the Culture and HR managers that we speak to on a daily basis.

One of the most common questions we get when speaking to HR Directors is “Why do I need The Financial Gym when we can bring in our 401K provider to speak about financial literacy?” This is valid, and it begs the question: “How financially literate are your employees?”

It’s Pride Month — a time of year when companies rightly celebrate their LGBTQ+ employees. However, many employers are missing out on ways that they could be supporting their queer and trans employees, especially when it comes to their benefits package. Pay equality is often viewed as the most important financial issue in the workplace, but employer-sponsored benefits can play a huge role in either leveling the playing field for LGBTQ+ employees or perpetuating inequality. Out-of-pocket medical expenses can have huge financial consequences for queer and trans employees.

Increasingly, employers are realizing the importance of supporting their employees’ mental health and wellbeing, and financial health plays a huge role in that. Thirty-four percent of employees said that financial stress has severely impacted their mental health, according to the 2022 PwC Employee Financial Wellness Survey. That stress extends into the workplace: nearly one-fifth of employees said that financial stress greatly affected their productivity at work.

Employees’ desire for financial wellness programming and resources is also becoming more common.

Understanding our personal finances --- how to budget, save, pay off, spend, and invest wisely -- is essential for everyone, including your employees. Financial wellness is a growing concern of employees and the Culture and HR managers that we speak to on a daily basis. We have complied free resources so you can create a free financial wellness week for your employees.

Understanding our personal finances --- how to budget, save, pay off, spend, and invest wisely -- is essential for everyone, including your employees. Financial wellness is a growing concern of employees and the Culture and HR managers that we speak to on a daily basis. We have complied free resources so you can create a free financial wellness week for your employees.