How to tackle staff mental health issues caused by unaffordable housing
The survey found that a quarter of those surveyed (potentially around 2 million people nationally) believe their mental health has suffered because of living in unaffordable housing, where their rent or mortgage is equal to more than a third of their total household income.
Meanwhile 13 per cent of those under the age of 45 and in a couple, said that housing worries had meant that they had either delayed or not had children.
The statistics are worrying. The impact of financial stress on mental health at work is becoming increasingly apparent, with one in four people saying money worries have affected their ability to do their job, according to the CIPD.
Thankfully organisations are starting to listen. REBA’s Employee Wellbeing Research 2019, found that almost half (45.9 per cent) have a dedicated strategy for managing employee mental health. This is usually complemented by dedicated strategies for all elements of wellbeing – from physical to financial.
But while many organisations are now addressing such stresses with dedicated financial wellbeing strategies, is enough being done to target the financial stresses directly caused by housing worries?
Focus on housing advice
Often the focus can be on other areas of financial wellbeing – such as debt management, savings, pensions and retirement.
Yet by embracing mortgage advice as an additional part of their financial wellbeing strategy employers can help their employees manage one of the biggest financial outlays they face.
Answering the key question of how to help those living in unaffordable housing can have a huge impact. If employees are overstretching themselves financially on a monthly basis then giving them a route to better manage their housing costs will help. That could be guidance to develop a plan to get on the housing ladder for those struggling with the (usually) higher costs of renting or looking at whether the mortgage product they already have is still the best fit for them.
Even a simple mortgage review, for those who have slipped from a fixed rate deal to their mortgage lender’s standard variable rate (SVR), could help to release hundreds, if not thousands of pounds, into your employee’s annual disposable income, potentially turning unaffordable into affordable.
Is it time that mortgage advice became part of your financial wellbeing armoury for tackling mental health too?
This article is provided by Charles Cameron & Associates
Supplied by REBA Associate Member, Charles Cameron & Associates
Charles Cameron & Associates is a fully independent, whole of market Mortgage Brokerage.
