Use Inclusion to Create Financial Wellness for Employees

Employers today are playing an increasingly vital role in their employees’ wellness. More and more companies are creating formal programs around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), which helps to create a better work environment that ultimately results in increased productivity.

There are many aspects of these DEI programs, including focusing on helping employees be more well-rounded and happy individuals. This is done by supporting workers’ overall wellness, both inside and outside the workplace.

One major area that employers can have a critical effect on employee happiness is creating financial wellness. Here’s how employers can use inclusion to do this.

Why Financial Wellness is Important

Finances are a huge concern for all employees. After all, they’re working so they can earn enough money to pay for the life they dream of. Yet, as of 2022, more than 50% of all full-time employees in the United States reported that they were struggling to cover their ongoing living expenses.

Money can be a source of major stress for people, and that stress can trickle down to other areas of their life. When people are stressed-out, they’re more susceptible to suffering from anxiety and/or depression. These “at-home issues” can carry over to the office, resulting in reduced production and even increased absences.

Employers may think that simply providing a salary is enough to support their employees’ financial wellness, but that’s not true anymore. Businesses have the ability to play a positive role in boosting financial wellness for their employees in many more ways.

Provide Financial Education

For many employees, financial troubles don’t necessarily come from a lack of money, but a lack of education about how to properly budget and spend their money. Businesses can help in this regard by providing employees with financial education classes and resources.

This could include everything from formal guided budgeting to free budgeting and financial resources to direct access to a financial planner. All this will help employees feel more included, as they feel like their employer cares about their overall well-being.

The education doesn’t have be limited to just finances as well. By providing educational opportunities to help employees build their knowledge and skillsets, you’ll be helping them create a more stable future.

In doing so, companies will be taking a more hands-on role and partnering with their employees so they can build a long-lasting and successful career.

Ensure Fair Pay

At the same time, you can create a more inclusive workplace by ensuring that all employee groups are paid fairly for the jobs they are doing. Salary discrepancies are a major issue for many businesses. These can sometimes exist from one department to the next, or from one demographic to the next.

When you create salary equity, you’ll be making sure that all employees are compensated fairly for the work they do — regardless of their title, their background or their makeup.

Not only will this help to create a more equitable and inclusive work environment, but it’ll make it easier for your business to improve diversity.

Review the Benefits You Offer

The needs of today’s employees are a lot different than they were even 20 years ago. By reviewing the benefits you offer your employees, you can ensure that you’re meeting them where they are.

This review will allow you to identify whether your benefits package is still serving your employees well, or whether you need to make adjustments to make sure it aligns with their needs.

From a financial standpoint, it’s important to provide employees with an affordable physical and mental health plan, a retirement plan with possible employer match and other support resources.

In addition, employees increasingly desire income protection offerings, such as paid medical and family leave that they can use to recover from an injury or illness, help a family member do the same, or expand their family when they have children.

Other financial support features of a well-designed benefits package could include disability products that provides income protection should an employee ever need to miss an extended period of time due to an injury or illness.

Create Financial Wellness for Your Employees with Beckham Insurance Group

Today, it’s very important for businesses of all sizes and from all industries to create an inclusive work environment that allows their employees to achieve financial wellness. There are many ways to approach this topic, and it starts with offering a benefits program that takes into consideration more than just your workers’ physical health.

If your business is located in the South Carolina or Georgia area, working with Beckham Insurance Group is the best way to create an inclusive benefits package that helps create financial wellness for your employees. Our team of experienced professionals has the know-how to design a benefits package that fits your business and your employees best.

To learn more about how we can help you in this regard, contact us today.