How to help employees improve their financial well-being
Here are eight steps business and HR leaders can take to create a financial wellness program at their workplace.
Day after day, employees arrive at work carrying the stresses of their lives, and money issues can be part of their stress. Maybe one of your employees has a past-due medical bill on her mind. Or maybe a member of your management team has just gotten a call from his teenager about car repairs. The workplace can provide many financial solutions, such as medical benefits, retirement plans, and tuition assistance. But employees’ financial lives—and worries—extend beyond these programs. That’s one reason employers are looking at holistic financial wellness benefits that consider their employees’ full financial situations.
Financial stress draws attention from employers
Employees who are going through financial stress are more likely to take time away from work, to feel unprepared to retire, and to experience health issues, just to name a few possible consequences. These are costly for employers. And beyond the bottom-line costs, employers understand the human toll of financial stress and are looking for ways to help their employees.
Introducing new resources for starting a workplace financial wellness program
To help employers and human resources professionals meet this challenge, we’ve collaborated with the Financial Services Roundtable, a leading advocacy organization for America’s financial services industry. Together, we’ve created an eight-step resource guide for organizations that want to implement an employee financial well-being program. For a quick overview, we’ve created an illustrated summary called "Eight steps to launch a workplace financial wellness program." Resources are often limited for workplace benefits and services, so the guide includes links to resources and programs available at low or no cost from nonprofits and through federal, state, and local governments. These can complement programs offered by an organization’s existing benefit providers.
Resources to keep informed about adult financial education
Making it easier for people to make informed choices and follow through on them is a key element of effective adult financial education. You can learn more about this in our report, "Effective financial education: Five principles and how to use them." Business and human resource leaders have the opportunity to put this principle into practice in the workplace. To stay informed about news, research, and resources for adult financial education practitioners, sign up for CFPB Financial Education Exchange by emailing CFPB_FinEx@consumerfinance.gov.