HR professionals believe not enough is being done to support employee financial wellness or meet employees’ cost of living, according to Aon.
The research titled 2023 HR Future Focus Survey is conducted by Aon and uses the company’s Neurotech® listening tool, Reflection®. The tool records two kinds of insights: a neuroscientific score that reflects people’s true feelings, and a “traditional” score that reflects people’s planned responses.
According to the survey, there is a significant discrepancy between how employees view companies’ attempts to meet their financial demands and how employers think they are doing so.
When participants were asked to assess the statement, “We do enough to support employee financial wellness,” a significant disparity was revealed by the poll. The neuroscientific score was significantly lower, at 20 per cent than the traditional score, which was reported at 59 per cent. According to Aon, this 39 per cent difference highlights the belief held by HR experts that greater assistance is required to help employees manage their financial responsibilities.
The study found that employers’ traditional score for employees coping with the cost of living crisis is 53 per cent. In comparison, the neuroscientific score is 24 per cent, resulting in a 29 per cent difference. Additionally, when it comes to employees feeling confident about their financial future, employers’ traditional score is 51 per cent, and the neuroscientific score is 20 per cent, creating a 31 per cent difference in perception.
Aon’s poll also showed that businesses give health and happiness a high priority. The traditional score increased to 65 per cent in response to questions concerning whether or not workers are encouraged to lead healthy lives, while the neuroscientific score increased to 85 per cent, indicating a significant 20 per cent rise in the belief that workplace support for healthy living is common.
Participants’ answers to other questions about wellness highlight the importance of wellbeing even more: The neuroscientific score for the statement, “Our CEO values wellbeing for positive business outcomes,” was 84 per cent, indicating a 17 per cent difference from the standard score of 67 per cent. Similarly, for the statement, “A well-trained workforce is better for our business,” the neuroscientific score was 75 per cent, signifying a 10, whereas the traditional score was 85 per cent.
Aon UK leader for workplace pensions and financial wellbeing Martin Parish says: “It’s a worrying sign that HR respondents don’t believe that their organisation is doing enough to match the ongoing cost of living increases or giving their employees the confidence to hope for a robust financial future. The results indicate that there’s cause for concern of greater stress on individuals who may be suffering in silence and allowing financial worries to impact their wellbeing and their productivity at work.”
Aon principal wellbeing consultant Letitia Rowlin says: “It’s never been more important for businesses to support employees’ health and wellbeing. This view is shared by HR leaders as reflected in the results from Reflection® which show genuine belief that wellbeing is key to driving performance and retaining talent. However, the results also indicate that more needs to be done to support employee resilience, with particular risks being identified, including the lack of manager empowerment and the current cost of living. Businesses with healthier employees will always have better outcomes.”
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