Financial Wellbeing in the Workplace

Almost 8 in 10 UK employees take their money worries to work, affecting their performance. Fortunately, there are many ways for employers to champion financial wellbeing in the workplace, with support from the Money & Pensions Service.

Financial wellbeing is about feeling secure and in control. It is about making the most of your money day to day, dealing with the unexpected, and being on track for a healthy financial future. In short: financially resilient, confident and empowered.

That’s our definition at the Money and Pensions Service. We want to see everyone in Manor Royal making the most of their money and pensions. We give free, impartial guidance that helps individuals make sound financial choices. We also support employers and their partners to improve financial wellbeing at work.

Why is matters in the workplace

Money worries are the biggest cause of stress for UK employees (1). They are damaging to business too, often resulting in staff sickness. The case for financial wellbeing at work is compelling.

4.2 million worker days each year are lost in absences because of a lack of financial wellbeing. That’s the equivalent of £626 million in lost output (2).

Nearly 7 in 10 UK employers believe staff performance is negatively affected when employees are under financial pressure (3).

Want to know more?

We have a wealth of evidence to share with you on what works to build financial wellbeing in the workplace.

• Our guide Financial Wellbeing in the Workplace – The Essential Guide for Employers outlines seven simple steps you can take to support your workforce with their financial wellbeing.
• For a quick overview, watch a short video where we share to some of our insights on workplace initiatives from the Financial Capability Lab
• Our one-page thematic review on this topic summarizes a range of research on why employers should offer support and how workplace financial wellbeing programmes should be designed
• Explore the further research on our Evidence Hub

The links on the side of this page more detailed breakdowns on how financial wellbeing can be improved in different ways across your business or organisation.

How we can support you

The initiatives shared on these pages draw on our expertise, support and resources. They’ll help you to enhance financial wellbeing in your workplace.

We also offer a wide array of free support to businesses including:

• a dedicated partnership manager based in your location, with managers in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and regions across England.
• bespoke support to help you build and implement your financial wellbeing strategy.
• a selection of guides available in English and Welsh, and in print, braille or audio format, for free
• a help with the cost of living hub featuring articles, tools, calculators and a printable guide to support your colleagues and customers.
• our annual Talk Money Week awareness campaign, which provides a platform for conversations about money in all walks of life.

MoneyHelper offers a bi-lingual service via a variety of channels, with tools and helplines in English and Welsh:

• guidance on life events and how these affect pensions.
• help for employees to plan for later life, with a section dedicated to pensions and retirement guidance.
• various tools and calculators offer personalised guidance for topics including debt advice.

For more information, speak to Claudine Bell at the Money & Pensions Service. Claudine would be delighted to speak to any employer groups, business groups and/or chambers to fully explain this and our free accompanying resources by webinar or face to face presentations. 

claudine.bell@maps.org.uk

Sources

(1) 94% of UK employees admit to worrying about money and, of these, 77% say that money worries impact them at work.
Close Brothers, The Financial Wellbeing Index (2019).

(2) Centre for Economics and Business Research, Financial wellbeing and productivity: A study into the financial wellbeing of UK employees and its impact on productivity, 2018.

(3) 69% of UK employers. Neyber (2018), The DNA of Financial Wellbeing 2018.