Does your financial wellbeing strategy reflect the realities of everyday life?
Across the UK, employers are seeing the impact financial stress can have on productivity, engagement, retention, and overall employee experience. While salary levels remain important, many organisations are beginning to recognise that financial wellbeing is also shaped by something more immediate: cashflow and pay timing.
Recent research conducted by Zellis and Hastee – a Zellis company – together with the Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing at Aston University, and authored by Rachel Harte and Dr Hayley James, explored how employees are experiencing financial pressure and how workplace financial wellbeing tools are supporting them.
The Financial Wellbeing in the Workplace research highlights a growing challenge for employers: financial stress is widespread, and many employees are struggling to build financial resilience.
Financial stress is becoming a workplace issue
The research, based on responses from more than 1,200 employees across sectors including healthcare, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing, found that 52% identified the cost of living as their main source of financial pressure, while 23% pointed to unexpected expenses.
For many employees, the issue is not necessarily poor financial management, but the reality that bills and unexpected costs do not always align neatly with monthly pay cycles.
Car repairs, childcare costs, school expenses, transport, and emergency household bills can quickly create financial pressure between paydays. Even relatively small, unexpected expenses can trigger stress and distraction at work.
This matters because financial stress rarely stays outside the workplace.
Research increasingly links financial pressure with absenteeism, presenteeism, lower productivity, reduced engagement, and higher employee turnover. Employees who are worried about making ends meet are often less able to focus fully on their work, development, and long-term career goals.
For employers, financial wellbeing is becoming an increasingly important part of workforce strategy and employee experience.
Why pay timing matters more than ever
One of the most interesting findings from the research was the growing importance of pay flexibility.
Traditionally, financial wellbeing initiatives have focused heavily on financial education. While education remains valuable, the findings suggest that practical financial flexibility may play an equally important role in helping employees feel more stable and in control.
Among employees surveyed, 67% said they felt more in control of their finances when using workplace financial wellbeing tools that included earned wage access and flexible pay features. A further 67% reported reduced stress between pay cycles, while 60% said they felt more confident managing money and better able to plan ahead.
These findings reinforce an important shift in the financial wellbeing conversation.
For many employees, financial wellbeing is not simply about how much they earn. It is also about whether they can access their earnings in ways that better reflect the realities of everyday life.
This is where earned wage access is increasingly becoming part of broader workplace financial wellbeing strategies.
Solutions such as Hastee’s earned wage access and financial wellbeing platform help employees access earned income before payday when needed, while also supporting longer-term financial habits through tools such as savings features, financial education, and budgeting support.
The connection between financial wellbeing and retention
The findings also suggest that financial wellbeing support can create measurable workforce benefits for employers.
Nearly half of employees using flexible pay tools reported taking on extra shifts or overtime because they had greater control over when they could access earned income. Additionally, 64% said they would be more likely to stay with an employer offering these types of employee benefits.
At a time when many employers continue to face recruitment and retention challenges, this becomes particularly relevant.
Financial wellbeing support is increasingly moving beyond a “nice to have” wellbeing initiative. It is becoming part of a wider retention, engagement, and workforce planning strategy.
Importantly, the research also challenges the assumption that financial stress only affects lower earners.
Employees across different salary levels reported similar experiences in terms of financial pressure and the benefits of having access to flexible financial wellbeing tools. This suggests that financial resilience is often linked not just to income level, but to whether employees have access to systems and support that help them manage short-term financial challenges effectively.
What employers should consider next
As employee expectations continue to evolve, organisations have an opportunity to rethink what meaningful financial wellbeing support looks like.
The most effective workplace financial wellbeing strategies are unlikely to rely on one solution alone. Instead, they are likely to combine practical tools, financial education, personalised guidance, savings support, and flexible pay options that help employees build confidence and resilience over time.
For employers, the opportunity is not simply to support employees through periods of financial pressure, but to create workplace environments where people feel more secure, more focused, and better able to thrive.
As the relationship between financial wellbeing and workplace performance becomes increasingly clear, employers who invest in meaningful financial wellbeing strategies may be better positioned to attract, support, and retain talent in the years ahead.
Supplied by REBA Associate Member, Hastee – A Zellis Company
Financial wellbeing solutions helping employees reduce financial stress.
