Majority of Workers Feel Burdened by Financial Stress

The majority of employees feel burdened by money-related stress, with 68% of respondents to Francis Investment Counsel’s 2015 retirement plan participant survey daily experiencing some level of financial stress.

Thirty-eight percent say money worries keep them awake at night at least occasionally.

The survey finds money stress further affects employees because of its persistence; 23% of respondents think about their money stress often, if not constantly. This preoccupation also has an impact on employees’  job performance, with more than half of respondents reporting financial stress is a distraction at work.

“Employees often look to their employer as a resource they can trust, which makes corporate financial wellness programs a natural extension of workplace offerings,” says Kelli Send, senior vice president of participant services at Francis Investment Counsel. “When employers offer these programs, employees receive the help they need to perform better on the job and feel more confident about their financial futures.”

A survey recently released by Aon Hewitt found a majority of large employers (55%) now offer help to workers in a least one category of financial wellness, such as budgeting, debt management or the financial aspects of health care. By the end of the new year, more than three in four (77%) large employers will have at least one financial wellness program in place.