Most of us have experienced financial stress at some point in our lives, many of us still are, right now. Which means we know how you feel. The anxious nights thinking about how to budget for the next month. The feeling of dread when seeing an unpaid bill. The tension with our partners when it comes to finances.
So it’s no surprise to discover that there is a very clear link between financial well-being and mental health. Chances are your customers are already aware of this as well. But they may not know the extent of this.
Understand the connection between financial wellness and mental health
Here are some facts to remind your customers:
1. Financial stress is ubiquitous
Ninety percent of Americans They say that money has an impact on their stress levels. Yep, you read that right. Most people living in the US are stressed about money.
Here is another frame of the situation: when asked how they feel causes them the most stressEmployees cite financial issues more than any other life stressor combined.
As employers already know, the pandemic has only made the situation worse. On half of working adults in the US He said the impact of COVID-19 will make it harder for them to hit long-term financial goals. Not only that, but among those who said their financial situation had gotten worse, 44% said it will take three years or more to get back to where they were before the pandemic, and 1 in 10 said their finances will never be the same again. the same.2 . Financial, mental and physical health are interrelated
We often talk about financial, mental, and physical health as separate categories, but the truth is that they are all interrelated.
If an employee is mentally unwell, they may have a hard time taking care of their body and their finances. Similarly, being stressed about money has a direct impact on health— negatively impacting everything from your quality of sleep to your immunity.
Financial stress has also been shown to have a direct impact on mental health. People in debt have higher rates of mental health problems such as depression and anxiety compared to those who are debt-free. Poor financial health can also exacerbate existing problems: 86% of people with mental health problems said that their financial situation had made their mental health problems worse.
3. It is difficult to get out of the cycle of financial stress
An unfortunate reality of financial stress is that it is extremely difficult to get out of it. Why?
Studies show that financial stress leads to a decrease in decision-making ability. In other words, the more stressed your client’s employees are, the less likely they are to make smart decisions when it comes to spending and saving.
This, of course, means that they will accumulate more financial stress, creating a vicious cycle that will continue until some kind of intervention is introduced.
And that’s where your customers come in.
An opportunity to take action
I know you’ve already been working hard to get your clients to participate in the benefits of financial wellness. If they are still undecided, start small. Today you don’t have to invest in a comprehensive financial wellness platform, but there are still impactful things you can do to improve your employees’ financial and mental health:
- educate them Behavior change begins with education. Employees spend eight hours a day at work, leaving them little time to do their own money management research. That’s why employers need to meet them where they are and give them the resources they need to make better financial decisions.
- Reduce the financial burden. Employees are struggling with debt, bills, and mortgages today. As great as retirement accounts are, encourage your clients to find ways to reduce the financial burden on their workforce in the short term, too. Student loan repayment programs. Wellness budgets. Office stipends. All of these additional monetary benefits go a long way.
- Provide personalized guidance. Finally, one of the best things your clients can do is give their employees access to professional financial support. Talking with a financial advisor can help people identify and take action on goals that make sense for their circumstances. Unfortunately, these services are largely inaccessible due to cost, which is why 99% of Americans don’t use them Getting employers to give people access to financial professionals (preferably Certified Financial Planners™) is an effective way to relieve financial stress.
Although finances have a huge impact on the mental health of employees, it’s easy for employers to forget them, especially given the number of different priorities they’re juggling. Take the opportunity to bring this conversation up again and hopefully help them take action to address the financial well-being of their workforce.
