While 84 per cent of U.S. employees believe their employer should be responsible for their financial well-being, only 55 per cent feel their company is concerned about their financial wellness, according to a new survey by SoFi at Work and Workplace Intelligence.
The survey, which polled 800 full-time employees and 800 human resources leaders, found three-quarters (75 per cent) of employee respondents said they’re facing at least one source of major financial stress and more than half (51 per cent) felt more stressed about their finances in 2021 than ever before.
As a result of this increased stress, employees are pivoting their personal and professional lives, with 25 per cent taking on second, part-time jobs and 19 per cent tapping into their retirement savings. Also, the survey found respondents are spending a weekly average of 9.2 hours on their personal finances, while at work.
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Despite these findings, the vast majority (91 per cent) of employees said they’ve committed to improving their financial well-being by setting financial goals for 2022. Even more importantly, 75 per cent of employer respondents said they’re planning to increase their budgets for financial well-being programs within the next two years in order to ensure employees have the tool they need to reach these goals.
The survey also found that improving employees’ financial well-being could have a ripple effect in driving increased worker productivity (86 per cent), desire to stay with their employer (86 per cent), job satisfaction and engagement at work (84 per cent), ability to focus (84 per cent), as well as improved mental (84 per cent) and physical (80 per cent) health.
While benefits like retirement plan matching and financial planning tools remain important for respondents, 36 per cent said they want the ability to receive part or all of their paycheque in cryptocurrency and 42 per cent would like to receive non-fungible tokens as a performance reward.
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