New research has found that 25 per cent of UK workers have suffered from a lack of concentration at work due to worry over their personal finances showing productivity could be improved if workers had more control over their earned pay*.
Of 1,000 workers surveyed, 25 per cent say they have suffered from a lack of concentration at work while thinking about managing their finances and 19 per cent believe this has diminished their performance. The research reveals that financial stress has impacted 21 per cent of people in average level roles, yet this rises to 30 per cent for people in higher paid roles, indicating that financial stress is not limited to those with lower incomes.
More than a fifth (21per cent) of workers admit to managing debt repayments during working hours while just under a third (32 per cent) have missed work because they have not had enough available funds to pay for their travel costs to work.
The survey also highlights a growing disconnect between traditional pay cycles and the ability for UK workers to live comfortably within their means. Seventy-eight per cent of workers rely on finance options to source money quickly between pay days. Since the demise of the payday loan company Wonga people have been looking at alternative ways to source funds to help ease the burden.
James Herbert, CEO of Hastee Pay, commented,
In the age of portfolio careers, employers should note that forty-four per cent of respondents are interested in being handed control of their own pay and 45 per cent are more likely to stay with an employer that can provide flexible payment. It’s clear that traditional pay cycles don’t fit with modern financial demands; flexible payment is the key to motivating and retaining a happy, productive and engaged workforce
When it comes to employers offering financial support, only 12 per cent offer face to face financial advice and 16 per cent offer financial wellbeing programmes. These findings suggest that employers lack awareness of the financial challenges of their employees as well as the associated impact on business productivity. Employers must begin to acknowledge and understand the silent strain that financial stress is having on their workforce. As part of the growing trend of businesses demonstrating Corporate Social Responsibility, employers should consider a financial wellbeing strategy that offers guidance which also empowers workers to reach out and ask for help, both confidently and discreetly.
*from Hastee Pay
Interested in wellbeing? We recommend Mental Health Awareness training day and Workplace Wellbeing and Stress Forum 2019
Aphrodite is a creative writer and editor specialising in publishing and communications. She is passionate about undertaking projects in diverse sectors. She has written and edited copy for media as varied as social enterprise, art, fashion and education. She is at her most happy owning a project from its very conception, focusing on the client and project research in the first instance, and working closely with CEOs and Directors throughout the consultation process. Much of her work has focused on rebranding; messaging and tone of voice is one of her expertise, as is a distinctively unique writing style in my most of her creative projects. Her work is always driven by the versatility of language to galvanise image and to change perception, as it is by inspiring and being inspired by the wondrous diversity of people with whom paths she crosses cross!
Aphrodite has had a variety of high profile industry clients as a freelancer, and previously worked for a number of years as an Editor and Journalist for Prospects.ac.uk.
Aphrodite is also a professional painter.
