Turning Stress Into Success

The data is clear: when it comes to personal finances, American workers are hurting.

Retirement savings, long considered a key barometer of financial wellness, shows this strain in crystal clarity. A recent Vanguard study showed more employees making hardship withdrawals from employer-sponsored savings plans like 401(k)s in 2022 than in previous years. The same study showed average retirement account balances decreased by 20% over 2021.

Data from the Federal Reserve showed that over 20% of all loan applications submitted to financial institutions were denied in 2022, a 5-year high. Additionally, American adults lost on average $1,819 due to personal financial errors in 2022 according to the latest National Financial Educators Council report. Multiply that by 240 million American adults and a picture emerges of a populace lacking money know-how.

So, what’s an employer to do?

The good thing is that employees tend to trust two types of organizations to provide education and guidance on money issues: their financial institution and their employer. (If your organization happens to be both, then you’re in even better shape.)

You’re likely motivated to ease the financial anxiety of your workers simply because you care about their well-being. But it makes good business sense too. Employees carry their financial stress with them when they come into work, and it harms productivity. Another study revealed that:

The average worker loses eight hours each month of productive time due to dealing with personal financial stressors.

You can help your staff get those eight hours back by reminding them of the highly beneficial free resources available to them because of your partnership with BALANCE:

• Impactful, personalized financial coaching
• On-demand empowerment resources through your Private Label website
• Monthly webinars on a variety of crucial topics
• Essential educational resources for their children
• A host of other tools for helping make their money dreams a reality

The Magic Number 12

Here’s one last nerdy fact: Linguistic experts suggest that if you encounter a word 12 times during a year, your brain will store the piece of information as a long-term memory. But why do we need reminders? Why can’t we always just remember what needs to be done and when? The answer is simple: people just have too much going on in their lives, the day moves by so fast, and people forget the little things.

Reminding your employees 12 times a year that you have resources to help them with improving their finances (and getting those eight hours back) will go a long way toward increasing their productivity, job satisfaction and loyalty.

Try it out!