Bosses must adopt a flexible approach to working hours to help workers worried about their financial woes, an insurance company boss has said.
Glenn Thompson, chief distribution officer at Unum UK, said Britons needed more flexible working hours to help mitigate childcare costs and other financial concerns.
He said: “Financial worries are having a huge impact on the mental wellbeing of the UK workforce. Safeguarding employee mental wellbeing is a significant issue for businesses, now more than ever.
“As cost-of-living pressures rumble on, there are plenty of ways that employers can help support a workforce who may be experiencing stress due to financial worries."
He said keeping an open line of communication with staff should be a "first port of call for employers to better understand the financial concerns that may be arising among workers".
He also suggested that a flexible approach to working hours to help mitigate childcare costs could provide huge support, alongside the peace of mind offered by Group Risk products, company pension schemes, financial education resources, or discretionary loans and salary advances.
Financial worry arises when people cannot see or understand their financial reality.Kusal Ariyawansa, Appleton GerrardThompson said: "These are just some examples of how varied the solutions can be to support employees dealing with stress related to their finances.”
This comes as Unum UK carried out research among British working adults, which found that financial worries cause 40 per cent of workers to report low levels of energy.
The study, which was carried out last year and quizzed 3,005 people, also found 32 per cent were unable to sleep and 25 per cent said they feel depressed when they are concerned about their finances.
Mental health day
Group Risk Development, the industry body for the group risk and protection sector, has also released research ahead of World Mental Health Day this week (Tuesday October 11).
This shows that employers believe that stress related to finances is the number one health and wellbeing concern among most generational employee demographics.
The industry body polled 503 people and found that this cause of anxiety was cited by 30 per cent of generation X workers, 33 per cent of millennials and 31 per cent of generation Z.
This backs data by the Office for National Statistics, which showed 18.5 mn working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety during 2022.
Speaking to FTAdviser, Kusal Ariyawansa said advisers can provide a solution to people’s financial burdens.
The chartered wealth manager at Manchester-based Appleton Gerrard Private Wealth Management said: “Financial worry arises when people cannot see or understand their financial reality. Instead, the mind says things are bad and are only going to get worse.
"A financial planner can listen, help you understand better, and illustrate the reality around how things will turn out, based on your current situation and behaviours.
"They will then be able to plan with you on how your current situation can realistically be bettered, again illustrating what it will look like. This should give you confidence and motivate you to do what is right.”
Aamina Zafar is a freelance financial journalist
