I also spotted a piece of interesting data. Quoting from ZDNet:
In a recently released survey by San Francisco-based fintech SoFi, 75% percent of US employees said they’re stressed about their finances. Nearly half (40%) said they worry about inadequate retirement savings; one-third feel the weight of credit card debt, and more than one-quarter (29%) said they’re stressed about not having enough money to pay for their mortgages, and rents, or food.
The survey revealed that financial stress had impacted employees in various ways: 38% say it has worsened their sleep, 36% say it has affected their mental health, and 27% on their physical health. Moreover, a quarter of employees surveyed said financial stress had crippled their motivation to pursue personal goals, while 22% said their relationships had been affected by it. In the workplace, be it in the office or at home, nearly one in five employees (23%) said they’ve had trouble focusing, and 18% have had issues with their productivity.
The survey posed questions to the 800 HR leaders surveyed about what current financial benefits they offer to their employees, such as contribution benefits, financial resources, and education tools. More than three-quarters (77%) said they offer such resources. The survey revealed that of the top five benefits, 70% of companies surveyed say they offer retirement matching/401(k), 69% offer financial planning tools, 63% offer access to a financial planner/advisor, 61% offer financial education, seminars, or courses, and 58% offer budget planning tools.
Of the employees surveyed, 64% want employers to provide benefits to help them build an emergency savings fund and retirement matching, while 62% want financial planning tools, and 61% want budget planning tools. What’s more, 60% want homeownership assistance.
But why is there a disconnect between what employers say they offer versus employees who feel they don’t have such benefits? The SoFi survey revealed that an average of 38% of employees aren’t using their benefits mainly because of the quality of benefits and awareness. Twenty-three percent of workers said their financial benefits are “poor,” while 21% say they don’t know how to get started using them. Moreover, 19% say they didn’t realize such benefits existed.
Why do we care?
I’m doing a live stream tomorrow to answer some Q&A, and I’m anticipating a question related to career development, which is why this data probably is on top of my mind. The mismatch between what employees give in benefits versus what employees are utilizing. It’s a familiar refrain. In software, it’s known that most features aren’t used. Similar here in benefits.
Finding the unlock here feels key. I’m not sure I have an answer. That said, my thought would be that this is where smaller companies can be more agile. It’s far easier to devote one-on-one attention to employees regarding their needs when your staff is ten versus 100 or 1000. It could be as simple as just spending more time… and that investment could pay off.
