This week is Mental Health Awareness Week 2022. A key aspect of our company is to help alleviate the stress and anxiety that many employees face with their finances and the reason we want to help educate workforces on their finances both big and small.
You might be wondering what finances have to do with mental health. The answer is a lot more than you might think! In today’s world, there are increasing financial challenges. The rising prices of both goods and services are leaving many employees more concerned about their finances than ever before.
The current rate of inflation is 6.7%, the highest in over 22 years, so no wonder a lot of people are feeling the pinch. Think about how expensive it is now for fuel? And yet the rate of inflation is still expected to increase more over the coming months.
There is a wide range of factors impacting the rate of inflation, the war in Ukraine, Covid supply chain issues, Brexit, and the rising price of oil, just to name a few. It’s very understandable that any of these issues individually could cause financial stress and anxiety. With all these issues combined the average employees are now extremely concerned about the level of impact they will have on their finances and what impact they will hold over their future daily life.
How these financial issues will affect average employees is becoming an increasing issue. With many employers unable to increase their employees’ wages to match the increasing cost of living, it’s very understandable that employees could be experiencing heightened levels of anxiety, and stress which negatively impacts their overall health both mental and physically.
How to help?
Be prepared! A good method for being ready for the curve balls that life throws at you is by having a plan. By feeling more prepared for any financial surprises, then you will feel more confident that you are able to handle them. Creating a financial plan is just one of the ways that you can utilise to combat some of the negative feelings attached to your finances.
Although not all plans work out perfectly it can help alleviate your stress when it comes to your finances if you have a clear idea of what funds you will need for the upcoming months and how to make the most of the funds you have.
Financial Surprises can hit us when we least expect them and can leave us often filled with elevated levels of stress and anxiety.
You might be wondering what people do when these issues hit them. Often it is simply to react and panic, this can lead to them making decisions that are not fully thought out and may not be the best long-term solution to their problems.
Here at Employee Financial wellness, we value a preventative approach towards financial stress. Our belief is to prevent financial stress from starting in the first place. We aim for our clients to be able to identify their future financial events and have them be part of their financial plan. Another key aspect to being prepared is having your short-, medium- and long-term goals clearly identified and having funds assigned to these goals each month.
Education is a fundamental pillar of our approach, and we believe that if employees have been educated on their financial situation, then they are better equipped to handle any surprises that may come their way helping to alleviate the elevated levels of stress and anxiety that surround financial issues.
If you are an employee needing help or advice with your financial situation or an employer looking to help your workforce by offering them a financial wellness education programme, feel free to contact us today!
