Poor financial wellbeing in the workforce is costing UK business around £6bn in lost revenue each year, according to new research, with employees absent or distracted from their work because of money worries,
The new white paper from Aegon UK says employees’ financial wellbeing is under pressure due to spiralling prices and the cost of living squeeze. Its research found that almost half of workers (49 per cent) are now less confident about retiring, stating that their current pension provision will not be enough to provide a good standard of living by the time they retire.
Many are also concerned about their current living standards, with four out of 10 people saying they have less than £100 left at the end of the month. Aegon says this is affecting levels of anxiety and, in turn, mental wellbeing.
Aegon is calling on employers to adopt ‘altruistic capital’ strategies, with workplace pensions at their core. Aegon claims this can give companies a competitive edge by understanding and addressing workers’ financial needs in a holistic way. This could also prove vital to attracting and retaining the best talent in a competitive recruitment environment.
The paper defines altruistic capital as the principle of taking a strategic, empathetic and compassionate approach to delivering financial wellbeing for employees – a win-win that can not only be of great help to individual employees, but also significantly boost company performance, productivity and, ultimately, shareholder value.
Aegon managing director Linda Whorlow says:“Giving employees a sense of financial security has never been more important. Since March 2020, the mental and physical wellbeing of employees has been in sharp focus, and there is a growing need to consider financial wellbeing too.
“Benefits packages are front and centre in this with employees rethinking their attitude to work and the type of employer they want to work for and employers now increasingly viewing workplace pensions through a financial wellbeing lens.
“Employers can make a huge, and positive, difference to employee morale and engagement by redesigning their benefits package from a financial wellbeing perspective, focusing on better financial outcomes.”
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