How a second lockdown has affected family finances, and ways that employers can help
These could include financial uncertainty as we head toward a national recession, fear that taxes may increase to support government schemes, or facing the prospect of managing with less household income.
What can this mean for your business?
It’s no secret that employee wellbeing has a direct impact on the performance of your business, with 77% of employees saying that money worries impact them at work, according to Close Brothers Asset Management’s Financial Wellbeing Index 2019. It’s also easy to overlook the connection between financial worries and mental health, and how they often feed into each other, creating a vicious cycle and impacting performance. After all, if your people aren’t feeling their best, they won’t be performing their best.
The 2020 edition of the CIPD Health and Wellbeing at Work Report shows almost two-thirds of businesses cite mental health issues as their top cause of long-term absence. This highlights the importance of having wellbeing activities in place to support employees who may be struggling. Even when employees are present they can be affected in numerous ways, such as reduced productivity, decreased morale and the inability to focus or complete tasks.
Here are some practical ways to support employees with financial concerns:
Signpost support and advice
There’s a wealth of financial advice and support available to help manage finances and debt. Directing your people to these articles, online tools and advice lines will enable them to seek guidance without having to discuss their problems at work. If you send out regular internal communications, or have an online portal for your business, these can be great opportunities to share these resources.
Take advantage of services available in an EAP
An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a fantastic tool that enables employees to proactively manage their wellbeing. The Health and Wellbeing at Work Report found that 69% of employers currently offer an EAP service to their workforce, but it can be easy to overlook the variety of support they can provide.
These services offer so much more than just emotional support, they can offer confidential legal and financial advice as well, providing realistic and practical steps which could aid your employees in getting back to their best. If an EAP is already in place, this extra layer of support will not incur any additional cost to your business, and the anonymised data which emerges can provide useful insight to understand and tackle the commonly experienced issues in your organisation.
Leadership and management
Leaders play a key role in creating a positive and inclusive culture, and getting them bought into a wellbeing strategy will likely bolster employee engagement. Setting an example and starting the conversation by being open with their own stories can empower employees to be transparent about their own issues, which in turn can help them to get the support they need.
Line managers also have an important role to play. As direct links to employees, they’re often the first people that an employee will approach about their concerns or worries, so it’s vital to provide the right tools and training to prepare them for these difficult conversations.
Additional support schemes
Organisations may wish to introduce financial support schemes to directly aid employees with increased outgoings as they spend more time at home. For example, we introduced a ‘Winter Warmer Fund’ for every employee to aid with increased utility usage, as well as a fund that enabled employees to claim back the costs of home office equipment up to a limit. These activities have received an overwhelmingly positive response and have ensured our people feel valued and secure in a time of uncertainty.
Stay informed with the latest in health and wellbeing
You can keep up-to-date with the world of health and wellbeing in the workplace by visiting our Insights Hub; designed to inform and inspire all organisations. Explore a wide range of resources such as research and how-to-guides, and hear from industry experts and partners.
This article is provided by Simplyhealth.
In partnership with Simplyhealth
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