Poor financial wellbeing impacting employees

Do you spend much time fretting about money? If your finances cause you sleepless nights, you’re certainly not alone. With mental health and wellbeing increasingly under the spotlight, financial worries are a big contributor, including for those in steady employment.

A Financial Wellbeing Index⁴, assessing the financial wellbeing of UK employees, reveals a large number of UK employees are suffering from money worries, with over three quarters (77%) of the workforce saying that money worries impact them at work. This figure was even higher for millennials at 87%.

It seems that over a third (34%) of people are not financially prepared for a loss of income or unforeseen costs. Although one of the biggest money worries was coping financially if they lost their job, only 8% of employees have purchased an income protection product.

A large part of financial wellbeing is having the confidence that you can achieve your financial goals. It was therefore surprising to find that 55% of employees do not have a financial plan and 76% don’t know what tax allowances and reliefs are available to them or have some awareness but are not sure if they are taking advantage of them.

⁴Close Brothers, Mar 2019