Four out of 10 HR professionals feel ill-equipped to offer support to employees with financial problems, according to a new survey.
Fintech lender Neyber found that almost half of the HR people surveyed (49 per cent) said they did not feel it was their remit to offer this support.
The study was carried out among 10,000 UK employees and 500 employers. It found many employers were failing to recognise that an employee’s financial difficulties can cause productivity problems in the workplace.
Around 35 per cent of employees say they have felt stressed, 26 per cent have lost sleep, 20 per cent have felt depressed, 10 per cent struggle to focus at work and 6 per cent have missed a day at work, specifically because of financial worries. Of these, 40 per cent say the issue creates a negative impact on relationships at work.
However the same research found that 45 per cent of HR people said they thought employees didn’t bring their financial concerns into the workplace.
Neyber’s report showed that three in 10 employers have a well-developed wellbeing strategy, encompassing personal finance, retirement planning and employee benefits, however a further 20 per cent said they have no strategy at all, and while 17 per cent of those are considering it, 12 per cent have no plans to introduce one at all.
Neyber head of employee wellbeing Heidi Allan says: “It will be no surprise to know that this time of year is particularly problematic.
According to debt advice charity National Debtline 37 per cent of employees put Christmas expenses on credit last year, so although this is not the employer’s issue, there is great scope to support staff with financial wellbeing and education.”
