Financial wellness programs have become an important employee benefit in recent years, and the emergence of COVID-19 has further increased demand for resources that can help employees handle their finances.

The Role of Financial Wellness in Your Workplace Retention Programs

Many employees are still overwhelmed by financial uncertainties resulting from the pandemic-driven shutdown that cost many people months (if not a full year) of income. They are often distracted and unable to focus on daily tasks, including their jobs – which is costing employers billions of dollars.

What Can Employers Do?

More businesses might consider offering financial wellness as part of an overall workplace retention program. These programs help employees create a healthier work-life balance by offering financial education, teaching methods for dealing with and alleviating stress, and providing employee perks.

A complete workplace retention program may include the following:

1. Financial and Credit Repair Training

Financial and credit repair training is one of the most common (and often first) components of a workplace retention program. It teaches employees how to better understand and manage their personal finances.  

Many classes are geared toward educating employees on how to reduce personal debt, establish and manage bank accounts, and budget for life-altering circumstances, such as buying a home or starting a family.

The purpose in educating employees on money management is to help them minimize financial-related stressors that may otherwise consume them mentally and emotionally, both in and outside the office.

When workers are in the office, employers want them to be happy, healthy, and productive. However, that often coincides with having a positive and enjoyable personal life.

2. Mindfulness and Relaxation Training

While learning to manage personal finances might be a valuable destresser, it will only go so far toward alleviating a full spectrum of stressors – many of which might not be financially related.

This is where mindfulness and relaxation training can help. This program helps employees turn their focus away from what they might worry about tomorrow and concentrate on the here and now. 

Once employees become comfortable with these techniques, they can learn to perform them anywhere and at any time when they need to manage stress in an overwhelming situation.

3. Access to Therapists

Sometimes, education and self-soothing exercises are not enough, and employees might benefit from meeting with professional therapists.  

Providing employees with easy access to mental health services can often be mutually beneficial for the employer and employee alike. 

Through a program like this, employees receive higher levels of treatment without spending unnecessary time (that is better spent focusing on work) searching for and visiting external therapists.

4. Employee Perks

By offering employee perks and discounts – such as those provided at Abenity – businesses show that they genuinely care about their workers.

You can get a feeling for the amount of savings available to employees by using a Savings Calculator, like this one.

Employee perks are one of the most important (and often simplest) practices a company can implement.

Abenity’s employee perks, for example, are easy to purchase, cost-effective, and provide discounts on products and activities that employees enjoy. 

Let’s Keep Our Employees Happy and Healthy

As employers, we want our workers performing at high levels, because that’s what makes our companies profitable. However, an employee’s productivity is often linked to their mental and emotional health – so keeping them happy and healthy is important to everyone.