Almost three quarters (72 percent) of employees say they feel stressed about their finances, with many struggling to stay afloat amid soaring living costs, research from Hymans Robertson Personal Wealth has found.
The findings reveal a workforce increasingly under pressure, with 64 percent of employees admitting they’ve had to cut back on essentials in the past year. More than a quarter (27 percent) say they are “struggling or in crisis” financially, while 39 percent report feeling unprepared for an unexpected financial emergency.
The main cause of financial stress is the rising cost of living, cited by 56 percent of respondents as their biggest concern. This was followed by debt (25 percent) and saving for retirement (25 percent). Taken together, the data paints a concerning picture of widespread financial fragility and the mounting toll it’s taking on employee wellbeing and resilience.
As a result, the financial planning firm has launched an insight hub, The Hidden Cost of Financial Stress, to help employers understand and address the impact of financial pressures in the workplace. The hub includes findings from the research and introduces the first Employee Financial Stress Index, a new benchmark that will track employee financial stress levels year-on-year.
Julie Hammerton, managing partner at Hymans Robertson Personal Wealth, said: “Our research shows that low levels of financial resilience, and limited safety nets, are leading to high levels of financial stress. This will be having an impact on how employees work, engage and function. These should be seen as warning signs; a workforce that’s living this close to the financial edge is more vulnerable to stress, disengagement and absence. These findings clearly align with the recent FCA’s Financial Lives survey, which found that 24 percent of the adult population had low financial resilience. Together this paints a worrying picture regarding the huge impact financial stress is having on the UK’s workforce.”
