Money Advice Service's Inigo Churchill on the powerful impact of financial wellbeing on health

However, there is an additional piece to the wellbeing puzzle: financial wellbeing. If ignored this can just as powerfully have an impact on the bottom line – but in a negative way.

Financial capability, or the lack of it, can have a profound effect on a person’s overall wellbeing. A growing body of evidence shows that anxiety about finances leads to poorer mental, physical and social wellbeing, and that this affects attendance and performance at work.

If an employee is in financial difficulty there is a high chance that they will struggle to focus on their work,make mistakes, or miss their targets. When your workforce suffers, your businesses can also suffer.

The CIPD’s 2017 survey, Financial well-being: the employee view, revealed that one in five workers reported they lost sleep over financial worries; 8% had spent time during the working day dealing with money problems; and one in four admitted that money worries affected their ability to do their job.Yet most employers are slow to talk about financial matters with employees.

“Money is seen as a measure of success. To say to somebody, ‘I’m having trouble with money’ is to admit, not just to them but to yourself, that you’re unsuccessful.” School leaver, male, Manchester

Every employer, regardless of size, could potentially play a role in destigmatising issues about money and debt, reducing employee stress and improving productivity. Recent research by the Money Advice Service (MAS) shows just how much value this could bring, with savings to the health service of up to £145m inreduced costs associated with depression and anxiety, and £67 million to £137 million in productivity gains.

Research also shows that both employers and employees agree that if workers knew where to go for helpand guidance, they would have better control over their money and would seek help when they needed it.

The recently published Independent Review of the Funding of Debt Advice in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, focussed on the role employers can play in helping people to access debt advice, recommending that:

• Employer organisations such as the CBI should bring the availability of free debt advice to the attention of their members.
• Large employers should be encouraged to consider the benefits of providing debt advice within employee assistance programmes.
• Smaller employers without a dedicated employee assistance programme should signpost employees to the MAS Debt Advice Locator tool.

If, as an organisation, you are looking for a place to start the journey to improving the financial capability of your employees, the Money Advice Service offers free guidance and information through the Financial Capability website at www.fincap.org.uk.

There is also signposting to debt advice providers for organisations and individuals at www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk and a dedicated resource for employers at www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/employer-best-practices.

Inigo Churchill is strategy, governance and finance professional at the Money Advice Service.

Download a copy of the 88 page Employee Wellbeing Research 2018 (free to REBA Professional Members and all those working for REBA Associate Members).

If you would like to learn more about employee wellbeing, register here to attend the Third Annual Employee Wellbeing Congress on 5 July 2018.