outside the working day to mentally deal with financial problems,” she says. “Financial worries don’t go away just because you’re at work.” While it is important to be mindful and understanding
of this, it is also important to realise the business impact it has too. Therefore, it is within everyone’s interest for those instances to be reduced and for people to feel supported.
GOOD FINANCIAL WELLBEING A KEY PART OF ESG A key trend which has been accelerating over the past 12 months is a greater scrutiny on the impact that organisations have in terms of their ESG credentials. Instilling good financial wellbeing is not just a
‘good’ thing to do, it forms one of the aspects of a company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations. The ‘S’ component of ESG covers the relationships that companies have with employees, customers, suppliers and the wider community. “The Covid-19 pandemic also put employee
wellbeing higher up the list of issues that investors look at in companies from an ESG perspective,” says Harriet Shepherd. “This means that employee wellbeing is no longer just an internal issue. Companies need to be able to show what they’re doing to support employee wellbeing as they are being held more to account than ever before.” The relationship an employee has with their finances
can have a substantial impact on wellbeing. Almost nine in 10 larger UK businesses say they have been impacted by poor employee financial wellbeing, through outcomes such as reduced productivity, loss of talent and more short-term and long-term absences, according to a report by Close Brothers published in March 2019. Financial wellbeing is not just about how much
money you have, but also about how secure, confident and empowered you feel financially. “Enhancing financial wellbeing is vital to any
company that is committed to supporting the mental health of employees,” says Harriet Shepherd. But what support can a company provide an
“ ...employee wellbeing is no longer just an internal issue. Companies need to be able to show what they’re doing to support employee wellbeing as they are being held more to account than ever before.” HARRIET SHEPHERD, ST. JAMES’S PLACE
employee? It’s partly about emotional support, but there is also a practical element too, especially when it comes to building financial confidence and wellbeing. In some cases, it will begin with financial education and equipping people with the tools to manage their finances effectively.
“Financial education is also about the effective
communication of existing reward packages and making sure that there is a good uptake from employees,” she says. “Employees often need support when making
decisions about those opportunities. You only need to look at the number of people still in the default fund of their pension plan. While it will be right for some, more often it indicates that they haven’t engaged with their pension or even their wider benefits package to understand what would work best for them.”
GETTING THE WORK/LIFE BALANCE RIGHT As employees return to the office, the balance between work, life, finances and family are throw into sharp focus. Global talent managers, who are responsible for disparate teams in many geographies, have a tricky juggling act trying to respond to differing needs and demands. Yet right now people leaders have an unparalleled
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