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Chapter 03: Financial Stress

Employers report that the problem could be even worse. In a survey

conducted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, 60%

of employers report that financial stress affects their employees’ ability to

focus, and 34% report absenteeism and tardiness. A study published in the

Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning found that financially stressed

employees are less likely to be productive, and that stress as a reason for

absenteeism has increased over 300% since 1995.

Employee financial stress has a dramatic effect on

business

For an employer with 10,000 workers, that adds up to 3,000 distracted

employees, and 1,380 workers spending more than three hours per week

dealing with financial stress. According to PwC, this can mean losses of up

to $3.3M per year. And that doesn’t even include the 12% of employees who

admit missing work from time to time—PwC estimates that could cost as

much as another $166,000 per year for an employer of 10,000.