Financial wellbeing moves from employee benefit to business strategy
Nine out of ten (92%) UK employees experienced financial stress during the past year adding that it affects their performance at work, and 64% added that they are more likely to stay with an employer that offers financial wellbeing support.
This was part of the opening remarks at Hastee and Zellis' Financial Wellbeing Summit 2026 as Hastee CEO Jaime Jimenez and Zellis CEO Abigail Vaughan highlighted the scale of the challenge facing today's employers.
These statistics set the tone for an afternoon focused not simply on employee benefits, but on how financial wellbeing is becoming a strategic driver of productivity, engagement and organisational resilience.
Although each session explored financial wellbeing from a different perspective, five consistent themes emerged throughout the session:
1. Financial wellbeing has become a boardroom conversation
A recurring message was that financial wellbeing should no longer sit solely within HR. Instead, it should be recognised as a strategic business issue with a direct impact on productivity, engagement and retention.
Workplace wellbeing expert Gethin Nadin demonstrated how financial stress affects organisational performance, sharing evidence that financially stressed employees lose more than 50 working hours every year dealing with or worrying about money at work, while more than one in four are considering leaving their employer.
2. Access matters as much as the benefit itself
Several speakers emphasised that even the best financial wellbeing programmes only deliver value if employees know they exist and can access them easily.
Rather than asking employees to navigate multiple systems, organisations are increasingly embedding financial wellbeing into payroll and HR platforms that employees already use. This reduces friction, increases awareness and encourages greater engagement.
3. The evidence has never been stronger
Rachel Harte and Dr Hayley James from Aston University's Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing presented new research involving 1,242 Hastee users, alongside qualitative lived-experience panels across multiple industries.
Their findings explored the relationship between financial confidence, workplace performance and long-term resilience, reinforcing the importance of evidence-based financial wellbeing strategies that focus on behaviour as well as education.
Data, they said, helps employers move from assumptions to measurable outcomes.
4. Simplicity drives engagement
Technology featured throughout the summit as an enabler of better employee experiences.
Whether through payroll integration, earned wage access, savings tools or financial education, speakers highlighted that successful solutions are those that remove barriers and fit naturally into employees' everyday working lives.
Making support simple, intuitive and accessible is essential if organisations want employees to fully benefit from their financial wellbeing investments.
The easier financial wellbeing is to access, the greater the likelihood employees will engage with it.
5. Collaboration is shaping the future
Improving workplace financial wellbeing requires multiple perspectives.
The partnership between Hastee and Aston University's Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing highlighted the value of combining academic research with real-world employee experiences to generate practical, evidence-based insights for employers.
Collaboration is accelerating innovation and helping organisations create more effective financial wellbeing strategies.
Continue exploring the Financial Wellbeing Summit - watch the session recordings, revisit the presentations and discover the latest research shared throughout the event.
Supplied by REBA Associate Member, Hastee – A Zellis Company
Financial wellbeing solutions helping employees reduce financial stress.
