Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Money Matters—at Work

Financial well-being doesn’t just affect workers at home. Canadians are bringing their financial worries into the workplace, and it’s messing with their productivity

Guide Magazine

Though statistics vary, several recent surveys show that money is on the minds of people at work, whether they want it to be or not. It’s estimated that almost three-quarters of working Canadians spend some part of their workday thinking about financial issues—an increase from 68 percent in 2021.

Workers generally spend around 30 minutes dealing with their personal finances at work, taking them away from the task at hand, according to the National Payroll Institute. But on a Canadian HR Reporter podcast, two ADP Canada experts estimated that the time lost due to financial stress is more than 11 hours per week.

Workers are well aware of its impact, too. Twenty percent report that they know this specific brand of stress is taking a toll on their ability to perform their work to the highest degree.

The effects of financial instability extend further than one’s focus, however. According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, this stress can contribute to

• heart disease,

• high blood pressure,

• mental health issues,

• trouble sleeping, and

• headaches.

Some employers are actively attempting to counteract time loss and improve employee health by offering services that help to address these worries. These programs include investment advice and tools, coaching services, and financial literacy supports. Supporting workers in taking their financial future into their own hands has been shown to be an effective workplace leadership approach, no matter the sector—one that benefits the employee and employer alike.

CLAC offers such supports through Wealthgoal, a financial education tool, and its Retirement Income Calculator. They can be found by logging into your myCLAC account, selecting My Retirement, and clicking Financial Tools.

Young Money Troubles

A new report says that more than half of Gen Z and millennial Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque, and more than a third can’t keep up with their current expenses without diving deeper into debt. On top of that, nearly 30 percent say that the state of their personal finances is poor.

This instability is causing them to double-down on the roles they currently hold. Only 15 percent of these demographics intend to switch jobs in 2024, which is higher than what was reported in 2022 (13 percent) but lower than in 2021 (25 percent). For those who are seeking other job opportunities, the main driver is a salary increase, which half of survey respondents listed as their main motivator.

Young workers are feeling the negative health effects of this stress. Fifty-seven percent of Gen Zs and millennials reported having anxiety within the last year, and seventy percent have experienced periods of anxiety over the past three years, with more than a third reporting depression in that same period.

Sources: hrreporter.com, canada.ca

Money Matters—at Work

Young Money Troubles

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