Financial uncertainty is one of the biggest life stresses in the U.S. these days. Living paycheck to paycheck, grappling with student loans, managing credit card debt, scrambling to cover unexpected expenses…the list goes on and on. These worries impact lots of people from all income levels. In fact, many high earning Americans are living just barely within their means, and are one emergency away from having a real financial problem on their hands.

Now everyone knows life is just all around rosier if you’re happy with how things are going. You hop out of bed in the morning with a spring in your step, and get more things checked off your to-do list. It’s no different in the workplace. Check out a few of these statistics:

• “Companies with happy employees outperform the competition by 20%”;
• “Happy salespeople produce 37% greater sales”;
• “36% of employees would give up $5,000 in annual salary to be happier at work”;
• “Employees who report being happy at work take 10x fewer sick days than unhappy employees”.

Now let’s turn to employee stress, and how it negatively impacts American businesses:

• Healthcare expenditures at high-pressure companies are nearly 50% greater than at other organizations;
• More than $500 billion is siphoned off from the U.S. economy because of workplace stress;
• Workplace stress has been linked to health problems ranging from metabolic syndrome to cardiovascular disease and mortality.

Being constantly stressed out is literally bad for your health, and lousy for employers’ bottom lines.

With all these issues taking their toll on the American workforce, what’s being done to help? Fortunately, employers are becoming more involved in the overall financial well-being of their employees to lower workplace stress levels and increase productivity. And many are going far and above simply offering a retirement plan. Ever heard of company sponsored employee health programs, where businesses offer discounted gym memberships, perks to employees who maintain a healthful lifestyle, and nutritional counseling? The same trend is on the horizon for employees who need help getting their personal finances on track. Companies are offering employee financial wellness programs, with personal finance educational seminars, access to financial planning services, guidance on personal retirement saving, and much more.

Even though the days of pensions and robust retirement plan matches may be going by the wayside, employers are still very much aware of the effect financial insecurity has on employee workplace happiness and efficiency. Many are looking for innovative solutions, and striving to offer benefits packages that solve these day to day financial frustrations. Their employees are paying attention too. Financial wellness benefits packages are contributing to better employee retention, increased ability to recruit top talent, and getting more done during the workday.

Interested in learning more about this growing workplace trend? Don’t hesitate to reach out.

If you’d like to start getting your personal finances organized to get 2018 off on the right foot, we’d be happy to help with that too. Take our free Risk Assessment to get started.