5 tips on improving employee financial wellbeing

Key ways that UK businesses can help improve improve employees’ financial confidence – and reduce their anxiety about money

Financial wellbeing has been a hot topic in recent years, but how much difference do financial programmes actually make to employees’ lives?

It’s widely appreciated that financial stress can affect people’s sleep, mental health, self-esteem and physical health, among a range of potential problems.

Indeed, half of UK adults who were behind on energy bills in late 2022 also reported high levels of anxiety, according to the Office for National Statistics. They were also more likely to experience depressive symptoms.

Yet four-fifths of UK adults don’t like talking about money.

So what are financial wellbeing programmes doing right – and what needs to change? Standard Life spoke to Blake Allison, Chief Executive and founder at LifeCents, a US-based financial wellbeing consultancy.

Here are some key points from our discussion.

1. Make your support relatable

Financial wellbeing has been an established concept for a lot longer in the US than the UK. Yet many US employers also struggle to substantially improve their employees’ financial health.

One of the problems might lie in the language used – how many employees actually use the term ‘financial wellbeing’? They’re much more likely to say, “I can’t pay my bills,” or, “I have too much debt.”

In other words, they will identify with the components of financial wellbeing, but not the jargon.

It’s therefore vital for employers to pitch the support they provide in ways that are meaningful to employees.

One way to do this is to frame the support around issues that matter to people – from trying to pay off student debt, getting on the housing ladder, organising family finances or preparing for retirement.

2. Treat the individual – not the category

Assessing a person’s individual needs is vital. Because you could have people that might appear similarly situated – in terms of age, gender, income, etc – but one of them might have lots of debt, while others might have none.

Equally, there is sometimes a risk that, as employers and providers, we define good financial health from our perspective rather than what it means to the individual.

This can result in people being pushed to achieve levels of what we call financial health that are not consistent with their goals and values.

Instead, it’s vital to first understand who we’re helping and what problems we’re trying to solve, because many employers have diverse workforces with diverse needs.

And if we’re not asking questions of the individual, such as, what are your goals, what are your interests and needs, what keeps you up at night? and responding to these particular circumstances, no financial wellbeing programme is likely to succeed.

3. Keep it simple

Many employers will understandably want to support their employees’ financial wellbeing. But the investment they’re willing to make might not be commensurate with the outcomes they expect.

From a company perspective, it’s risky to try to make investments in every different solution across the board, because there will always be more problems and more solutions.

Instead, it’s often helpful to scale things back and consider what you want your wellbeing programme to do and what outcomes you want.

A clear strategy, with specific outcomes, is the best place to start – because no employer can do everything.

4. Empower employees

Ultimately, employees are responsible for their own financial wellbeing. So the fundamental role of employers and providers is to empower them.

Information is more readily available than ever, yet it often makes little difference to people’s financial health. In fact, it can do more harm than good.

The trouble is many people don’t know where to start when trying to take control of their finances.

Helping employees to become more self-aware of their financial circumstances and needs is therefore one of the best forms of support you can provide.

If we raise people’s financial awareness through asking the right questions, it’s likely that they’ll then seek out and use the resources they need.

Employers don’t have to act alone in helping their employees either, because there are a lot of other parties that can provide useful tools.

As an employer there’s only so much you can do to get people to the point that they can benefit from the services you provide. So if certain forms of support are not within your capacity, putting your employees in touch with other parties and forms of support can often be the best approach.

5. Keep listening

Of course, employee concerns and needs will continue to evolve, as will the ways in which employers can support them. So remaining open-minded and humble in the face of change is vital. And most important for all of us is that we continue to listen to what employees tell us about their lives and circumstance and what matters most to them.

For more insights on financial wellbeing, including resources on how employers can help support their employees, visit Standard Life’s Financial Wellbeing hub.