To what extent have employees experienced financial stress and worry over the past year?
What are the consequences of financial stress and worry at work?
What is the impact of financial stress and worry on personal productivity?
Insights from our experts
With this research, we sought to understand the extent to which an ongoing cost-of-living crisis continues to impact people in the UK and Ireland, and the knock-on effect this is having on all aspects of their lives and wellbeing.
More than three quarters (77%) of employees report that they have experienced financial stress and worry over the last 12 months, a figure that rises to 83% amongst people under 35 years of age.
The implications of increased financial stress are profound, most notably how it impacts overall mental health, general wellbeing, and relationships with family and friends. A third of employees admit that they are less able to focus and concentrate as required in their jobs.
Significantly, this research highlights the extent to which financial stress is now also affecting working lives. 76% of employees who have experienced financial stress point to at least one way in which money worries are having a negative impact at work.
Other consequences of financial stress include employees becoming more error-prone (17%), less able to make good decisions (17%) and less able to communicate effectively (14%).
Perhaps most tellingly, where employees have experienced some level of financial worry or stress over the last 12 months, 54% admit a detrimental impact on their productivity at work. This figure climbs to 61% amongst younger employees under the age of 35.
Male employees are more likely to have experienced a drop in their levels of productivity as a result of financial stress, compared to their female counterparts (63% compared with 50%).
The results are unambiguous: financial wellbeing has clear and significant implications for employee performance and productivity.
Chief Innovation Officer, Zellis
There are a number of different reasons for the UK’s poor levels of productivity, but wellbeing is becoming increasingly evident as a factor. There is now a clear link between healthy and happy people and higher levels of performance.Unhealthy and stressed people are less productive and less present; while empowered and engaged people perform at a high level [3] .Productivity shouldn’t be seen as a dirty word in the wellbeing conversation. Some HR leaders still think trying to boost an employee’s output is somehow at odds with efforts to enhance their wellbeing. On the contrary, people get a sense of purpose and belonging at work by being successful. Wellbeing is an essential part of high performance.Business leaders need to think about investment in wellbeing not as an insurance against people falling ill tomorrow, but as a means to drive greater performance and productivity today. With the right tools and processes in place, you can now track the impact wellbeing initiatives are having on performance and organisational success [4].
Head of Impact and Inclusion, Wagestream
Financial stress at work costs a huge amount in lost productive time. Employers are stunned when you show them evidence of how much poor financial wellbeing amongst employees is costing them in terms of productivity and financial performance.One American study estimates this to be equivalent to 11 hours per week per employee [5]. Another has found the cognitive impact of financial stress costs people between 10 and 13 IQ points [6]. When you're worrying about money, you're less able to make good decisions because you've given over cognitive capacity to the problem. You're less able to control your emotions, so you're more impulsive and more likely to have an outburst. This means employees who are stressed about money might be working more slowly, making mistakes at work, and potentially making poor business decisions.According to PWC, among financially stressed employees who are distracted at work because of their finances, 56% spend three hours or more per week at work dealing with or thinking about issues related to their personal finances [7].
Non-Executive Director, Zellis Chief People Officer, EMIS Health
It’s striking that so many employees are now reporting that they feel stressed or anxious about their finances. The cost-of-living crisis is certainly affecting more people than 12 months ago, with higher interest rates affecting homeowners and tenants alike.The fact that the research shows such a clear link between financial wellbeing and performance at work should make business leaders in all industries stand up and take notice. In many boardrooms, I would say, wellbeing (financial wellbeing included) is largely approached as part of an organisation’s efforts to position itself as an ‘employer of choice.’ Employee wellbeing is rightly regarded as a key component of talent acquisition and retention strategies but there is evidently an undeniable business benefit as well.
