The number of employees in financial distress is rising: approximately 80% of employees are impacted by money worries at work and 57% say financial worries are the biggest cause of mental stress.We also know that those who are feeling financially stressed but who don’t feel supported by their employer are twice as likely to look for a new job. It’s clear there is a need to deploy solutions that support staff with their financial wellbeing.
But what support is best, and is your EAP capable of addressing all the needs of your employees? In this article, we’ll explore how EAPs support employees, where the shortfalls are, and how a financial wellbeing provider can fill the gaps, ensuring your employees are equipped to create sustainable financial plans.
What's in this blog?
What support do you get from an EAP?
Support from EAPs can vary according to each provider. The most commom services include:
- Help lines: EAPs offer confidential phone lines for employees to access support and guidance on a range of personal and work-related issues. This is often for times of crisis that require immediate intervention and support. An example of one EAP doing this is Care First, who offer 24/7 support to employees who need a better understanding of debt, loans, savings, pensions and legal enquiries.
- Counselling: Most EAPs offer mental health wellbeing support and counselling to assist employees in times of grief, trauma and stress. Telus Health is an example of an EAP who provides mental health support in the form of wellness coaching and counselling in an effort to promote better work/life balance.
- Content: EAPs also offer a range of educational content that helps them understand various elements such as stress management, work-life balance, and financial literacy. Well known EAP, Wellbeing Solutions, provides users and general public with a rich resource library of financial and mental wellbeing articles which can be used by employees to improve their financial education. Similarly Health Assured provides a resource library via their app.
What are the gaps?
Historically, EAPs have operated on a reactive basis, stepping in when employees reach out for help in times of distress. Whilst this model is changing – see Vivup’s Your Care as an example – the emphasis with most EAPs is still on helping employees at the point at which they are experiencing distress. Consequently, employers may overlook critical gaps in their benefits strategy if they rely solely on EAPs:
Prevention is better than cure
EAPs are great at supporting in the short term but have limited resources to focus on long term behaviours or underlying causes. Helplines for example, may signpost people to services such as Citizen’s Advice or MoneyHelper. This is vital because employees often don’t realise that these services exist and for a range of problems such as debts or legal issues, these services can be life changing. Signposting is, however, limited in terms of dealing with underlying causes because we know that financial education on its own has a negligible affect on behaviour change.
Similarly, whilst some EAPs provide access to experts such as money coaches, access tends to be restricted or focused on 1-2 sessions and without the kind of money management tooling that allows people to apply learning. In short – you might want an EAP to be there in times of crisis but it’s unlikely to prevent financial stress or build long term resilience.
Supporting all employees
EAPs are great at supporting those who reach out for help. But you’ve got to look at the numbers to realise that there are many more people who need support than the 5-10% who will utilise the EAP. With 80% of employees impacted by money worries at work, that leaves 70-75% of your workforce potentially suffering in silence, with a consequent impact on productivity and absence.
DEI considerations
Taking into account DE&I and neurodiverse workforces, it’s important to make available a variety of ways in which employees can get assistance. Whilst some employees will be keen to make use of phone lines or counselling, others will want to take advantage of self service support such as online chat or tools that build skills like budgeting or pension planning. It’s also worth considering that women and minorities are more affected by financial stress so employers with a commitment to inclusion and belonging might want to invest in more resources to support.
What a complete financial wellbeing solution looks like
EAPs and financial wellbeing providers (FWPs) go hand in hand when building an employee financial wellbeing strategy. While financial wellbeing programmes focus on prevention and proactive financial planning, EAPs provide critical support during times of crisis. A complete solution can integrate both.
In addition, it’s important to ensure any solution in place integrates the separate disciplines of guidance, coaching and advice whilst making sure the lines are clear, and it’s imperative that you as an employer understand the difference.
1. Crisis support
| Service options | Usual provider | Useful questions to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Counselling – usually in the form of a fixed number of sessions | EAP | How many sessions do employees get? Can employees access as and when they want? What qualifications to counsellors have? |
| Help line – can provide basic education/guidance and signpost to external services | EAP / FWP | Do people answering phones have any financial qualifications? How long are phone calls? What support is provided – guidance or coaching? How do you ensure employees are not given advice that should only be from a regulated professional? |
| Chat support – can provide basic education/guidance and signpost to external services | EAP / FWP | Do people answering chat have any financial qualifications? What support is provided – guidance or coaching? How do you ensure employees are not given advice that should only be from a regulated professional? |
| 1-1 financial coaching – access to qualified financial coaches | EAP / FWP | How many sessions per person? Can employees access as and when they want? What qualifications do coaches have? How do you ensure employees are not given advice that should only be from a regulated professional? |
| 1-1 financial advice – access to qualified financial advisors | EAP / FWP | How many sessions per person? Can employees access as and when they want? What qualifications do advisors have? |
2. Preventative support
| Service options | Usual provider | Use questions to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Money management tools – self service tools that help employees develop new skills and habits | FWP | What tools are available? What is average uptake? How do tools integrate with input from experts? What data security is in place? |
| 1-1 coaching – access to qualified financial coaches | FWP | As above |
| Financial education – articles, videos, live workshops, on-demand workshops, learning journeys | EAP / FWP | What forms of financial education are provided? How are these accessed by employees? |
3. Data and reporting
| Service options | Usual provider | Useful questions to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Personalisation – tailored services for the preferences and needs of each employee | FWP | In what ways is the service personalised for each employee? |
| Impact data – qualitative and quantitative data on engagement and impact | FWP | What data do you track? How do you measure impact? What reporting do we have access to? |
A preventative solution from a financial wellbeing provider can reduce the impact of financial concerns across the entire workforce and offer high quality support to employees, lowering levels of absenteeism reducing the impact of lower productivity.
Does a 4% impact on your bottom line sound like something you’d want to achieve?
Help your employees thrive, not just survive. Maji helps all employees with all aspects of their financial life such as mortgages, investments, savings and pensions. Contact one of our team members to learn more.
