Around 87 per cent of managers have been approached by an employee in the past 12 months to discuss concerns relating to their wellbeing but a significant number of organisations are ill-prepared to address them, according to Mintago.
Mintago, a fintech startup, surveyed 503 senior managers within UK-based organisations, public and private sectors. According to the poll results, employees’ third most frequent issue when speaking with their managers was their financial wellbeing, at 40 per cent, mental health at 48 per cent and job satisfaction at 43 per cent.
Of managers who had talked to staff members about financial well-being, 68 per cent of them cited the cost-of-living crisis as their top worry. The next three most common concerns were debt at 43 per cent, keeping up with mortgage or rent payments at 46 per cent, and asking for a pay increase at 50 per cent.
According to Mintago’s research, despite the prevalence of financial wellness difficulties, 33 per cent of organisations lack a well-defined procedure for addressing employees’ wellbeing concerns. More than half, 47 per cent, of managers said they felt uneasy about managing their peers’ worries about their financial security.
Mintago CEO Chieu Cao says: “We should not be surprised to see financial wellbeing concerns on the rise – the cost-of-living crisis has been an assault on people’s finances, and money worries are naturally very common. Yet these findings act as a stark wake-up call regarding the dearth of support structures within many workplaces, and it’s crucial that organisations of all sizes and sectors take note.
“Almost nine in ten managers across the UK have had an employee come to them with wellbeing issues, with financial wellbeing one of the most common. However, a lack of support structures and meaningful solutions are harming both managers and their staff, and this must be addressed.
“Ignoring or downplaying these concerns – no matter how uncomfortable they may be to talk about – risks not only the health and happiness of employees, but also the overall productivity and success of an organisation in the long run. It’s time for leaders to build a culture that allows their workforce to raise concerns with confidence, and then back this up with robust tools that deliver support in the areas employees most need it.”
