Break from the Grind September 25, 2018

Work Friendships Can Be Very Close for Some

Respondents to a survey reported being comfortable talking with work friends about their love life as well as their salary.
Reported by

A study of 3,000 full-time workers by Olivet Nazarene University finds 82% consider someone they work with as a friend.

Get more!  Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.

One-fifth (21%) indicated they become friends with a coworker within days, while nearly one-third (30%) said they do so within weeks. For 22%, it takes a couple of months, and for 27%, it take six months or more.

Eighteen percent reported they talk with or message work friends about things unrelated to work for more than one hour on a typical day. Twenty-two percent said they spend 30 to 60 minutes; 30% spend less than 30 minutes; and 30% spend a few minutes or less.

However, some of the conversation can be very personal. Nearly two-thirds (64%) indicated they are comfortable talking about conflicts with coworkers with one of their work friends, while 58% are comfortable talking about their love life. More than half (53%) are comfortable talking with one of their work friends about health issues, and one-third are comfortable discussing financial issues.

The survey found nearly seven in 10 (68%) talk with some work friends about how much money they make.

Sixty-two percent of respondents hang out with work friends outside of work, and 53% reported their work friends have met their non-work friends, while 69% said their work friends have met their significant other.

When it comes to staying in touch with work friends they no longer work with, 55% indicated they stay in touch a little, 18% stay closely in touch and 27% barely stay in touch.

Full results of the survey may be found at https://graduate.olivet.edu/news-events/news/research-friends-work.
Products September 25, 2018

Providers Collaborate on Employer Student Loan Repayment Benefits

Edukate’s 48,000 users can engage with Gradifi’s solutions once their employer adds the benefit to their platform.

Reported by

Edukate, a financial wellness platform, is collaborating with Gradifi, an employee benefits platform that helps people pay down their student loan debt and save for college.

 

Get more!  Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.

For Edukate, this is the first step towards a fully-integrated financial benefits platform for employers.

 

Gradifi’s SLP (Student Loan Paydown) Plan allows employers to make a regular contribution to pay down an employee’s student loan debt. Gradifi Refi gives employees immediate access to leading student loan refinancing lenders with exclusive offers, at no cost to the employer, to help employees reduce monthly payments and get out of debt faster. Gradifi’s College SaveUp Plan allows employers to make contributions to employees’ 529 college savings plans to ease the stress of paying for a child’s education.

 

The firms say this partnership timing is right and relevant given the recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) private letter ruling approving a student loan repayment benefit within a 401(k) plan.

 

An IonTuition study found 87.7% of respondents believe employer-sponsored student loan contribution programs are significant. In addition, results of the latest OneAmerica client plan participant survey show student debt is a widespread challenge facing U.S. workers as they contemplate retirement savings.

 

Edukate’s 48,000 users can engage with Gradifi’s solutions once their employer adds the benefit to their platform.

 

“Edukate has always sought to solve the problems that cause the financial stressors most employees experience each day,” says Chris Whitlow, founder, and CEO of Edukate. “Our platform is built to amplify employer financial wellness efforts through engagement, scalability, and integration of current benefits. We also know that student loan debt contributes to financial stress for a significant portion of our user base, but with Gradifi, we can now connect employers to an integrated benefit that will address these employee’s needs.”

 

“Through offering student loan repayment options, we aim to decrease employee turnover and give employers an edge in recruiting and retention,” says Meera Oliva, chief marketing officer at Gradifi. “Integrating with Edukate will expand our reach and offer numerous employers the chance to ease employee stress through contributing to student debt payments or a 529 savings plan.”

«