A recent report released by the Decision Lab in collaboration with Capital One shows that over 60% of Americans feel overwhelmed by the state of their finances.
This financial stress then shows in their life in the form of low workplace productivity, lack of focus due to stress and depression, as well as poor decision making.
Not only that, but the study further shows that financial stress contributes to absenteeism at work, which costs businesses more than $2,000 a year per employee.
That means small employers lose around $1 million a year while large employers around $19 million because of low employee productivity and lack of motivation.
Studies also show that financial stress leads to tiredness and sleep issues such as insomnia which makes it difficult for employees to focus, communicate, and cooperate in the workplace as a result.
But is there a solution to financial stress and what can be done to get rid of it. Read on as we discuss it below!
What Does a Lot of Financial Stress Do?
The study really went in-depth with their research to bring us a comprehensive view of the current state of financial stress and how it affects employees both in and outside of the workplace.
The results from this research show that when the researchers controlled for FICO scores and household income, they found that high levels of financial stress are directly linked to bad financial practices and habits, as well as bad financial attitudes.
Furthermore, the study shows that individuals who experience financial stress are typically:
- Less likely to attribute or associate success with hard work
- They’re impulsive spenders who live paycheck to paycheck
- They’re less likely to feel in control of their finances
- They’re less likely to budget and plan their finances
- They’re less likely to be regular savers and forget about investing
What About Financial Wellness Programs?
I know that most of what we’ve shared thus far makes it seem as if financial stress is a hopeless situation.
But, there are financial tools and resources such as financial wellness programs which are designed to assist employees to cultivate financial aptitude.
They specialize in features that help employees to achieve a number of different goals, from emergency preparedness, pay off debt, budgeting for monthly expenses, and measuring their measure of financial stress.
Another great feature of them is the ability to connect employees with professional financial counselors as well as enough knowledge to empower people to improve their financial situation so that they can achieve financial goals such as buying their first home and investing.
Conclusion
It’s clear; financial stress can lead to a swathe of negative outcomes for employees, both personally and professionally.
But, the good news is that if you find yourself in this predicament. There’s something that you can do about it.
You can enroll in financial education programs and take advantage of these tools which will literally help you to make better financial decisions and achieve great financial goals that you never imagined were possible to shoot for.