Reducing financial stress  

Less financial stress. More well-being at work. That is the ambition.

The project ‘Less financial stress. More well-being in the workplace’ started in September 2022. The aim of this project is to provide a framework for companies to achieve improved entrepreneurship by improving the financial well-being of their employees.

To achieve this goal, we develop and test several products and services that organisations can use to identify and address employees' financial concerns at an early stage. Doing so should ideally result in improved financial well-being of employees and diminish the impact of financial distress at the workplace.

Why should employers care about employee financial well-being?

Financial stress not only impacts the employee's personal life but also has implications for the employer. For instance, employees with financial worries tend to make more errors, are prone to adhere less to safety standards , have higher absenteeism and are less concentrated on the job. There is also the additional administrative cost of handling wage garnishments. Dutch research indicates that these combined costs amount to as much as € 11,300 per annum for an average full-time employee.

There is currently no information available on this matter for Flanders. In the Netherlands, as many as 62% of Dutch employers reported employing staff with financial difficulties in 2017, with a fifth of employers reported dealing with wage garnishments in 2018. Additionally, another Dutch study demonstrated that households wait an average of five years before seeking professional assistance for their financial problems. Financial problems can quickly spiral out of control, resulting in households accumulating high levels of debt before seeking help.  However, early intervention from employers can help to limit the impact of financial difficulties and reduce the negative impact in the workplace.

While some employers are already aware of the issue, most companies have yet to implement a welfare or HR policy to support their employees in the area of financial well-being. Additionally, employers often lack knowledge on the type of support they can offer, and there is a limited range of tools and services available to directly implement in the workplace.

The aim of the current project

In this we develop and assess a range of tools and services for improving employees' financial well-being. This includes workshops on financial topics  for employees, an online self-help course for employees, training managers to address financial concerns, and access to a budget coach who will counsel individual employees in a short intervention. All our tools and services are anchored in scientific research and incorporate elements proven to effectively elevate the financial welfare of employees. We focus on early detection of financial stress, discussing financial concerns with employees and proactively providing solutions to mitigate their impact. Our ultimate goal is to equip employees with the tools necessary to improve their financial well-being and reducing the negative effects of financial stress within the workplace.

If you require further information or are interested in our approach, please do not hesitate to contact us at nele.peeters@thomasmore.be.