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How to Approach Financial Wellness with Your Team

Over recent years, employers have become increasingly aware of how mental health issues can impact their employees. Employers can do their best to manage their companies sensitively (e.g. avoid overworking employees). It can, however, be more challenging to help employees through issues outside the workplace.

Money and Mental Health

Money certainly isn’t the only cause of mental health issues but it can often be involved with them. For example, money worries can leave an individual stressed, couples fighting or families arguing over priorities. All of these issues (and more) can bleed into an individual’s work performance. This can then have an impact on both coworkers and customers.

It’s therefore entirely legitimate for employers to want to help their employees have a healthy relationship with money, especially post-COVID19. This help does, however, need to be offered in a way that respects personal boundaries.  

For example, you need to be careful about singling out individual employees. You can, however, run a workplace financial wellness program for employees. As a part of this, you can survey employees anonymously. You can also provide a curated resource hub where individual employees can go to research any topics of particular concern to them.

Running Effective Surveys

You don’t need the expertise of a major research company to put together basic employee surveys. It is, however, advisable to have a think about the questions you ask just to make sure they are genuinely neutral.  

Also, think about how many questions you ask. It’s generally better to go short and sweet than long and in-depth. You can always run multiple surveys, just make sure they’re appropriately spread out. If possible, give employees dedicated time to complete the surveys (and a deadline by which to do so). Where appropriate, publish the results and add useful extra information.

Focus Your Program Where It Matters Most

A workplace financial wellness program for employees can be anything from a basic website with “test-yourself” quizzes to “learning lunches” and seminars with relevant professionals. The best workplace financial wellness programs are tailored to what employees really want, hence the importance of employee surveys. A workplace with great financial wellness program is one step ahead in achieving ideal business health solutions.

Depending on the size of your company, you may find that different demographic groups have very different priorities. For example, younger workers may be wondering how to afford their first house whereas older ones might be thinking about downsizing. Some topics will, however, often cross demographic boundaries such as anything to do with saving money.

Leverage Technology Whenever You Can

It can be great to deliver real-world learning experiences whenever you can. Realistically, however, these can be challenging to organize, even without COVID19 lingering. Online, live webinars, however, can be almost as good and a whole lot more practical. Even a recording of a live webinar can be a satisfying experience as can video training.

In fact, you don’t even have to get into the realms of video to deliver an engaging workplace financial wellness program for employees. Audio, text, and/or still images can all work very effectively, particularly when combined with interactive quizzes and exercises.

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