Beyond the basics: elevating financial wellbeing for lasting impact

To truly improve mental and physical health, we must address one of the greatest stressors for most people – money, writes Jeff Tulloch, managing principal at Financial Wellness Consulting.

Workplace dialogue around mental and physical health historically has received the majority of the wellness attention.

Recently, I’ve started to finally see more published regarding something I’ve been messaging for a while: to improve mental and physical health, we have to focus on the greatest stressor for many/most – our money.

Nudge’s 2025 Global financial wellbeing research confirms what I’ve always suspected, financial wellbeing is treated the lowest among all pillars of wellbeing – and yet it could potentially have the biggest impact on overall wellbeing.

The warning signs are everywhere

Stress, dissatisfaction, and anxiety are on the rise. Only 44% of Americans report being very satisfied with their lives, the lowest level in over 25 years, according to recent data from Guardian’s Mind, Body, and Wallet report 2025.

More than half of adults say they feel more anxious than they did just a year ago. And the top four sources of this stress? All financially rooted: inflation, cost of living, job insecurity and retirement savings.

It’s tempting to view these as economic issues. But in reality, they’re wellness issues. And when financial wellness is neglected, it affects more than just our back pocket, it strains mental and physical health and challenges an employee’s ability to show up fully at work and at home.

Financial health isn’t a luxury – it’s our foundation

Here’s the disconnect: while many wellness programmes tout holistic care, few treat financial health with the same seriousness as mental or physical wellness.

And that’s a mistake. When I work with employers, I often see wellness initiatives that emphasise gym memberships, meditation apps, and nutrition workshops. These are all valuable.

But when an employee is worried about paying their rent, juggling debt, or affording childcare, it's difficult, if not impossible to focus on other areas of wellbeing. The truth is, money affects your mind and body. And when financial health is ignored, overall wellbeing suffers.

Closing the gap starts with data

Nudge’s 2025 Global Financial Wellbeing report lays out, with clarity, how prioritising financial health and literacy leads to reduced anxiety and depression, to improved workforce engagement and contentment.

Employers need to understand how their people define wellness, and increasingly, the answer includes financial stability.

Wellness looks different for every employee, from a 23-year-old paying off student loans to a 55-year-old planning for retirement. But across the board, financial confidence is a common denominator for wellbeing.

What can employers do today?

To deliver programmes that actually gain positive momentum for employee wellbeing, employers need to:

Reframe wellbeing to include financial health. Don’t silo financial education or financial wellbeing programmes. Integrate them into your broader wellness strategy.
Look for evidence, not just engagement. High participation doesn’t mean high impact. Demand measurable outcomes: are your employees saving more or feeling more secure?
Address root causes, not just symptoms. Stress-reduction workshops are helpful, but they won’t replace the need for education that helps employees budget, build emergency funds, or manage debt.
Think long-term. One-off financial webinars won’t fix systemic issues. Offer sustained education and personalised, behaviour-based interventions.

Final thoughts

Financial health isn't “nice to have”. It’s the foundation that supports everything else. Let’s stop treating financial wellbeing as an afterthought. To learn more, I encourage you to read Nudge’s 2025 report and evaluate how your organisation is supporting employees’ financial literacy.

This article was originally published on LinkedIn.