Four million UK working days are lost annually due to financial stress

Over four million days are taken off every year due to financial worries, those who suffer at work, however, say that it can cost them up to two hours of output per day. This productivity hit costs businesses in the UK £1.6bn each year.

The research from this report carried out by Aegon portrayed that UK workers worry more about their financial decision at work, in appose to other major issues, such as family and health concerns for example. It is reported that younger workers are the worst affected by these issues.

Ronnie Taylor, Workplace Savings Director at Aegon, said: “Poor financial wellbeing is a huge issue impacting both employers and employees. We’ve uncovered significant evidence that it is damaging productivity in workplaces up and down the country.”

Younger workers and small businesses tend to be the most vulnerable to these issues, just under half (46%) of people under the age of 35 say they are doing everything they can to secure their financial future, compared to just over a third (37%) of people aged over 55. 43% of the group under 35 now feel they will never have everything they want in life due to financial constraints.

Ronnie adds “There is a need for businesses to understand more about this issue and urgently address its causes. This has been a long-term problem for employers, but our research shows that those who can focus on and address this issue are likely to reap significant benefits to their bottom line.”

However separate research carried out by Aegon found that 45% of employers feel that they would be interfering in their employees’ lives if they addressed these financial issues with them, furthermore, the other 55% feel that it isn’t their place to get involved. This is despite three in four employers saying their employees’ productivity has been impacted by money worries.

Those who had taken days off or experienced falls in productivity due to money worries also scored low on the financial wellbeing scale. Smaller businesses were also hit. 34% of people working in small companies (fewer than 50 employees) agree they are only getting by financially compared to 28% in large companies (250+ employees).

This could further indicate the efforts being executed by the larger employers to showcase the financial well-being of their staff. This report revealed that the employers that fall short on financial education are those with employees with the lowest financial wellbeing scores.

Even though 35% of employees feel they would benefit from receiving financial education, only one in seven is currently receiving this help from their employers.

Ronnie Taylor commented on this statistic, saying: “Employers need help when it comes to improving employee financial wellbeing. Many aren’t aware of what they can offer employees, while others simply don’t feel it’s their place. That needs to change. Our research shows employees both need and want some kind of financial support and highlights just what a difference it can make.”

The report gathered data from 2,000 UK employees across a wide range of company size, industries, and job roles.