Today’s personal finance landscape can be daunting for employees and for wellness coordinators. According to the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), 56 percent of American workers grapple with financial stress, which can lead to distraction on the job and presenteeism (being at work but performing sub-optimally). This can happen at all income levels. What’s more, studies have linked financial stress and ailments such as fatigue, headache, depression, ulcers, heart attacks, and diabetes.

The business case for financial wellness includes the following:

• Help with talent acquisition and retention
• Reducing absenteeism/presenteeism/turnover
• Improving productivity and customer service
• Providing a competitive business landscape
• Increasing retirement and insurance plan participation

While financial wellness covers many topics, it can be broken down into a few broad categories: spend; save; borrow; plan. Keep in mind that the #1 financial wellness issue for many people is debt management.

Workplace financial wellness action plan for coordinators

• Ask your employees what they want (blind focus groups, anonymous surveys, detailed assessments, etc.)
• Determine the resources that you already have—Employee Assistance Program (EAP); retirement plan advisors; health plan and wellness vendors; bank or credit union services (free checking, direct deposit, pay cards, savings accounts, reduced fees, preferred interest rates, lending, debt guidance); etc.
• Weave financial wellness into your wellness program in a variety of ways
• Decide the best delivery method (in-person, group meetings, phone, print, online interactive, webcast). Balancing privacy with a supportive, collaborative environment can be a powerful motivator for change
• Identify a timeline to deliver financial wellness resources and programs; “milestone moments” (open enrollment, maternity leave, new employee onboarding, etc.) might be times when employees are more open to change

Local resources

• LSS Financial Counseling offers multiple financial wellness resources for individuals and organizations
• Family Means provides financial wellness onsite education, online courses, health fairs, etc.
• EMERGE has a financial wellness program that offers free financial education classes at two locations in Minneapolis, as well as workplace-based classes for a fee

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Click here to read this month's E-tips for your employees titled "Your wealth and health."

To share these E-tips with employees:  

• Email the E-tips document to your staff as an attachment. 1) Click the link to download and save the E-tips to your computer. 2) Add your organization's logo in the bottom left corner. 3) Then send it as an email attachment to staff. 
• Or print the document once you've added your organization's logo and post it in a common area in your workplace.
• Or copy and paste the text into your organization's newsletter.

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