As the nation fights to overcome the challenges posed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, business leaders have expressed their main concerns among C-Suite employees. BrightPlan, a leader in Total Financial Wellness conducted their 2022 Wellness Barometer Survey and the results show a staggering increase of concerns for employees.
BrightPlan is the first financial wellness solution certified by the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence. The company provides a comprehensive solution that addresses all aspects of employees’ financial health at every stage of life and empowers HR teams to enhance the employee experience and better attract, retain and engage talent. With its latest findings, the company is shedding light on employee concerns and how members of C-Suites intend to handle them.
Financial stress remains a top concern for employees across business sectors. With a significant increase in employee financial stress from 2021, 72 percent of employees report they are stressed about their finances. This, in turn, has affected workers’ mental and physical health as well as workplace productivity.
With rising percentages of financial stress, many employees are feeling the pressure of everyday life coupled with the professional and financial challenges stemming from the pandemic. CEOs are looking for a solution to mitigate stress levels while maintaining transparency and trust among staff.
“As the pandemic’s impact on the workplace lessens and economic uncertainty increases, financial wellness is top of mind,” says Marthin De Beer, BrightPlan founder, and CEO. “Employees are more concerned and stressed about their finances than ever before. Fortunately, companies have gained trust among their workforce. By offering innovative wellness benefits, employers can leverage that trust to attract, retain and engage their best workers.”
The cost of living is also a major concern for employees. BrightPlan’s 2022 Wellness Barometer Survey noted that 79 percent of employees’ top concern is rising inflation followed by 59 percent of employees concerned with adequate retirement planning.
Numbers show employees are currently contributing significantly more to retirement in an effort to secure a nest egg. In addition, 56 percent report market volatility as their retirement plans are directly tied to the market.
Of the employees who report financial stress, a loss, on average, of 11.4 hours in productivity every week is also reported. This translates into over $4 billion in lost productivity weekly for U.S. employers, according to the Federal Reserve Economic Dataset.
“Two years of COVID-19 upheaval have caused employees to reexamine the influence that work is having on their life and whether that influence is a positive or negative one,” says
Danielle Posa, founder of Workplace Wellbeing Advisors. “As a result, it is understandable that well-being, in all its forms, has emerged as a C-suite priority. Companies can lessen the negative impact of the Great Resignation by putting well-being front and center and making it a part of the entire employee experience. In fact, when well-being is strategically ingrained into the fabric of the culture, it can be a real competitive advantage in today’s market.”
C-Suite executives and employers are also contending with a large number of employees leaving companies. The Great Resignation is forcing employers to find new talent amid the ongoing pandemic. Human Resource representatives are being hard hit as companies begin to lose talent in large numbers. 86 percent of HR leaders say their biggest challenge is attracting or retaining talent. Engaging employees is also high on the list coming in at 65 percent. African Americans seem to be the demographic that is leading the charge in the Great Resignation. Of those seeking greater mission and purpose, 52 percent of respondents were Black compared to 38 percent of respondents of varying racial makeup.
CITE Research on behalf of BrightPlan surveyed 1,500 knowledge workers at companies with more than 1,000 employees in the U.S. between April and May 2022.
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