Mental health rightfully has become openly discussed topic in the workplace. With all that is going on – energy crisis, raging inflation, ever increasing interest rates, is it any wonder that most of us are affected by it. John Lowe of MoneyDoctors.ie explains why it is so important to monitor the wellbeing of your workforce.
As it turns out, simply affording to live in Ireland isn’t so simple. Unless you’re one of those lucky few Lotto winners, you’ll need a decent day job to earn your crust. And since most of us don’t go to work just for the love of it, it’s only natural that the stresses of daily life can follow us into the office; in fact, recent research by Grant Thornton reveals that 70% of employees are suffering from financial stress. If you count yourself as one of that worryingly high number, or if you’re an employer concerned about the majority of your workforce, it’s important to do your best to foster a sense of financial control and perspective.
Considering the average person will spend 90,000 hours – or a third of their entire life – at work, it stands to reason that employee financial wellness should be considered vital in any workplace as financial health through education is integral to that overall wellness.
The simplest and most effective way to help the greatest number of people in your workplace is through a finance talk, or financial wellness seminar/webinar. As an employer, whether you feel the need for help with your finances personally is almost redundant: what truly matters is how much such talks can help your employees. And a happy, secure workforce that feels valued is the gift that keeps on giving: employees who feel highly engaged are 87% less likely to leave their posts, and companies that actively engage with their employees see 2.5 times the revenue of companies that don’t.
In every aspect of current workplace sentiment – from job satisfaction to motivation, morale, perceived stress levels or job security – it’s vital that employers in survival mode recognise the value of a fully focused workforce to the eventual recovery of their business.
So, whether you’re thinking about yourself as an employee, or about those you employ, these are the four main areas of personal finance on which a talk at your company you should focus in order to help people get a handle on their money:
- Budgeting and planning
- Debt management and mortgages
- Savings and investments
- Insurance, retirement planning and pensions
It is also important for the presenter to deliver such talks in an entertaining style – finance at the best of times can be boring but for some, the only thing boring about money is not having enough of it !
While mindfulness, exercise and other wellness areas are all very necessary and part of the overall well-being of your staff, a financial talk is equally as important and a must for every company in Ireland. For more information on the subject, you can click on the link www.moneydoctors.ie/seminars