Financial Wellness & Productivity: Companies are expanding mental health benefits; smart ones are incorporating Financial Coaching

“Given the connection between financial wellness and mental health, employers should consider offering financial coaching alongside their mental health resources,” says PwC’s Employee Financial Wellness Survey 2022.

Mental health in the workplace is front and center for employers nationwide because it’s a growing challenge for employees nationwide, especially Black/African-American and Latina/Latino/Latinx workers who are bearing the brunt of the pandemic’s myriad impacts on the job and at home.

Roughly two-thirds of employees now have clinically measurable mental health symptoms of anxiety or depression. Astounding. Meanwhile, The Mental Health Index: U.S. Worker Edition 2022 Q1 update finds that, among employees, the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder is up 121% from its pre-pandemic baseline and sustained attention is down 47%.

In response to this worsening mental health and dropping productivity among employees wrought by the ongoing pandemic, many employers have enhanced their mental health benefits. 53% of them added mental health programs last year according to PwC’s Health and Well-being Touchstone Survey, and nearly 40% of them expanded access to mental health services, according to Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2021 Employer Health Benefits Survey.

“Given the connection between financial wellness and mental health, employers should consider offering financial coaching alongside their mental health resources,” says PwC’s Employee Financial Wellness Survey 2022.

Farsighted companies are adding a Financial Coaching element to their benefits offerings because they recognize the connection. They know Financial Coaching can reduce employee stress and enhance mental health. They know 97% of employees think employers should be working to improve the mental health of their employees. And, they know the vast majority of employees (68%) want financial wellness benefits like coaching that helps them manage and avoid debt.

By expanding their mental health benefits to include Financial Coaching, employers differentiate themselves in the battle for talent that defines the labor market at the moment. They support their employees amidst an ongoing global mass trauma. And, ultimately, they strengthen their bottom line.