- September 3, 2008
- 1 Comment
Mo’ money, mo’ problems? Your employees will take that bet.
Yikes. Nearly half of American workers (47 percent) say they always or usually live paycheck to paycheck just to make ends meet, according to a CareerBuilder.com survey released today. This number is up from 43 percent last year.
Among other findings, the study also reports that 4 in 10 workers (42 percent) say they would need up to an additional $500 per paycheck to live comfortably. Fourteen percent says they have to work more than one job to keep up with monthly expenses.
“What does this have to do with me?” you wonder. After all, your employees’ money woes aren’t your concern. Oh, but they are…
According to this article in Workforce Management, employees’ concerns over personal debt end up negatively affecting the companies they work for. They cite employee debt expert Tom Gamin, whose research has shown that employees with financial problems are more stressed, less productive, and absent more often than others. They’re sidetracked by their own financial concerns and waste valuable workday hours trying to deal with their problems.
And results of a study issued last year by global healthcare provider BUPA echo these claims, indicating that workers’ worries over their personal finances lessened their productivity at work. On the flip side, companies who support their workers through their debt crises boost workplace morale.
No one’s saying that you have to hold your employees’ hands (in fact, your HR department hopefully has pretty strict rules against that) as you explain to them how to allocate their money, but it’s worth your while to guide them by investing in financial-planning workshops, courses, online resources or one-on-one sessions with financial counselors. And considering that a third of workers don’t even participate in any 401k programs, IRAs or retirement plans, you should probably at least make sure they’re aware of their options. In fact, what other benefits does your company offer that workers might not even be aware of? Can you offer your employees a work-from-home option? After all, many workers surveyed said one of the biggest money drains on them is their car, which I mentioned in a post a couple months ago.
Ideally, it would be great if you could boost your workers’ salaries to help them ease some of their financial strains (perhaps not as much as $500 per paycheck, as some survey participants requested…but if you can? Super!), but obviously that’s not always an option. After all, most businesses exist to make a profit. So consider other ways you can help them cope – and please share them!
Do these survey results surprise you? Are financial worries draining your own employees, and if so, are you doing anything to help them? What?
- Have a response? Join the discussion.
- Categories: Employee Retention, Survey Results
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