2020 Global financial wellbeing research

Enormous, evident, and now exposed: poor financial wellbeing is the elephant in the room. Our latest report explores how HR leaders and employees view financial wellbeing at work, and how employers can support people through a period of intense financial uncertainty.

Four in 10 (41%) employers say employee financial stress has hurt their business this year, almost three times the 15% who reported this before 2020. Yet two thirds (66%) of employees feel their company offers little or no support, and only 8% feel they can talk openly to their employer about money problems.

C-suite must see the elephant

More than half (53%) of employers want to do more but don't know where to start. 88% believe senior leadership could better support them, mainly by giving HR more autonomy (44%).

Jeremy Beament, nudge's co-founder, said: "These initiatives must be driven from the top. Leadership teams have a responsibility to empower every level of their business and ensure their teams feel supported as we navigate this uncertain period."

Money worries hurt business

40% of employers say money worries have caused staff to lose concentration and make mistakes, and 26% believe staff have called in sick because of them. Employers reporting poor financial wellbeing are seven times more likely to have seen a drop in productivity, and eight times more likely to have seen a drop in performance.

Money can't buy you financial wellbeing – skills and knowledge can

More people value having the skills to manage their money (86%) and feeling in control of their finances (88%) than earning as much as possible (65%). Employers with a financial wellbeing solution see the results: 43% say it improves retention, and 37% say it boosts engagement.