Financial wellbeing guide calls for strategic employee support
NHS Employers has worked with the National Forum for Health and Wellbeing at Work to contribute to a new financial wellbeing guide aimed at boosting support for employees.
The guide redefines the challenge of supporting employee financial wellbeing following the COVID-19 pandemic, in the context of the current cost of living crisis.
The National Forum for Health and Wellbeing at Work is urging UK employers to take immediate action to tackle this increasingly important issue.
It recommends organisations take a strategic long-term approach to support the financial health of employees and stresses an urgent need for employers to break down social taboos around talking about money.
The forum's first guide, released in 2020, highlighted the growing concern of financial matters for many employees at the time of the pandemic. Since then, while COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and life seems to be returning to normal, the costs of living crisis persists.
The new guide offers best practice examples from employers who have created successful initiatives to help ease the impact of rising inflation on staff.
It states the importance of a data-driven approach to ensure interventions are targeted where they can make a difference and, importantly, are offered within the context of an inclusive, proactive approach to protecting and enhancing colleague financial health.
Sir Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Alliance Manchester Business School, said: "It's clear that having a workforce that feels financially secure is as important to employers as it is to their employees.
"It will create a happier and more productive workforce, alleviating some of the concerns that might be preventing them from being their best at work.”
See the full guide at the link below.
Cost of living support
For further support on this topic, our recently launched cost of living hub pulls together long and short-term solutions to help you support employees with the rising cost of living. The hub features case study examples of what organisations are doing to support staff, our key enablers to help you implement change and a range of other NHS Employers guidance.
