We have a great opportunity to get financial wellbeing right.

At Neyber, we have carried out a survey of over 10,000 UK employees which puts the financial wellbeing of the UK’s workforce under the microscope. The wide-ranging report – “The DNA of Financial Wellbeing” has examined, for the first time, what the financial impact is on organisations whose employees are worried about their own personal finances.

We’ve known for a long time that a significant proportion of the working population lacks a sufficient savings safety net. Many have less than one month’s salary in the bank – not necessarily enough to cover any unexpected financial outlay. So it’s not surprising that the vast majority of people are worried about money.

Money worries and a lack of financial resilience manifest themselves in different ways in individuals. They may lose sleep, they may suffer anxiety or depression and, as with any mental health issues, this will have an impact on their working lives, as our report demonstrates.

55 per cent say financial pressure distracts them from fulfilling their roles in the workplace. And their relationships with colleagues and line managers are damaged because of the financial pressures employees are concerned about.

We know that younger employees are particularly vulnerable to money worries. And with the millennial age group predicted to comprise a larger and larger proportion of the workforce over the next ten years, so the number of employees affected by financial concerns will grow.

All this adds up to a substantial cost for employers to bear. There’s no doubt these findings are very worrying. But they also present a vital opportunity for us to begin to address individuals’ need for greater financial resilience and provide the support they need to achieve this.

We know that many members of the workforce say they would value financial assistance from their employer such as access to affordable loans, attractive savings, financial awareness programmes and support and guidance.

Employers have many options available to them to assist employees in matters of personal finance. Now that we understand the scale of poor financial wellbeing and the knock-on effects of it in the workplace, it’s crucial that employers stop and think about what they can do to help their employees who are concerned about their money.

We understand the issues and the scale of the problem now. This means we have a great opportunity to get financial wellbeing right. You can download the key findings of “The DNA of Financial Wellbeing” report here.

Heidi Allan – Head of Insights and Engagement at Neyber www.neyber.co.uk

If you’re an employer who’s keen to improve staff wellbeing, we’ve got some great news. Ovation is now offering The Financial Wellbeing Workshop. After a highly interactive one-hour session, all employees will leave with a tailored financial plan – and we’ll even do the travelling.