The past four years or so have brought with them a range of financial, economic, and systemic shocks. While everyone is hoping for a steadier future, with interest rates and inflation falling and economic growth and wages rising, it is more important than ever to encourage financial wellbeing in your workplace.
We are seeing debt and other financial worries as an increasingly important factor in referrals for mental health therapy. In fact, the number of referrals mentioning debt issues from one of our clients has more than doubled since the start of 2023.
So, even though, on paper at least, pressures due to inflation may have fallen, it is clear this is having an increasingly large impact on the mental health of employees. It sounds counter-intuitive, but these pressures have not actually gone away, it is simply that the rate at which things are getting worse has slowed.
Years of financial struggles and little respite have left a significant amount of people struggling to make ends meet, and the unrelenting nature of it means that any savings or safety nets are now long gone. An increase in uncertainty and worry around the potential impacts of this are leading to a rise in stress and anxiety.
Stress can also be felt in relation to bad financial planning, with individuals feeling regret, guilt, and shame around the impact this has on loved ones.
The far-reaching impacts of stress
Stress is not just a fleeting feeling of being overwhelmed; it can have profound and long-lasting effects on both individuals and the organisations they work for. Physically, chronic stress activates the body’s “fight or flight” response, increasing levels of hormones like cortisol. Over time, this heightened state can contribute to a range of physical health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, weakened immune function, and even gastrointestinal issues. Employees dealing with ongoing stress may find themselves fatigued, more prone to illnesses, and unable to maintain the same level of productivity as they might otherwise.
Mentally, stress can lead to anxiety disorders, depression, and burnout, creating a vicious cycle where the individual feels trapped in their circumstances. This can impair decision-making, memory, and focus—skills essential for performing effectively at work. Employees under significant stress are also more likely to experience disrupted sleep patterns, which can further compound these challenges and lead to irritability, lower tolerance for frustration, and reduced problem-solving capabilities.
As an employer, there are various things you can do to support the mental health of your employees and ultimately help to alleviate these issues.
Create an open workplace
As with many issues, discussing problems with money and how that may be affecting performance at work can be an effective first step in preventing a financial hiccup becoming a catastrophe. Try to create a culture where employees feel safe to discuss their problems or worries without fear of judgement. Having open, compassionate conversations can help reduce feelings of isolation and provide employees with the support they need.
It is important that this comes from employers and is actioned at every level of management. There is little use in encouraging junior members of the team to do so without reciprocation. Otherwise, this can often end up feeling more like telling on yourself than really unburdening your anxiety.
Financial education
Understanding what you are dealing with is one of the key steps to solving any problem. This is part of the reason that financial issues can cause such significant stress, as very few people ever have any sort of education on financial matters outside some basic sums in a GCSE maths class. This can lead to small issues snowballing into major financial messes. Instruments such as pay day loans can seem like a get out of jail free card (and they do have their uses) but misuse can quickly mean interest payments get out of hand.
By offering financial education to employees in the form of training or workshops, you can help prepare them to deal with budgeting, saving, debt management and even investment. This can act as both a preventative measure and a solution to some financial problems, but it is important to remember that financial issues are often more of a trigger than a root cause for mental health issues.
Awareness programmes
Alongside financial education, employers should be encouraging employees to make the most of available benefits and supports such as matched pension contributions, salary sacrifice schemes, rail season ticket loans and anything else the business provides. These benefits can quickly add up and by highlighting them to your workforce you will help them feel like you are there to help and support them, not just get the maximum amount of work out of them for the minimum possible cost.
Encourage Mental Health Support
Financial difficulties can trigger or amplify mental health challenges such as anxiety, low mood, and grief. Providing access to mental health support, like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), can be incredibly beneficial. CBT helps people understand and manage their thoughts, behaviours, and emotions during times of high stress. Employers can offer mental health support through Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), in-house mental health resources, or by offering time off for therapy.
There is certainly no quick fix to this problem, especially in the current macroeconomic climate, but that is not to say that it is futile to try and make it easier for your employees where financial stress may arise.
Dr Glenn Mason
Glenn is a highly specialist Counselling Psychologist and Psychotherapist and has regularly contributed to local, national and international media on psychology, trauma, chronic pain, PTSD, and duty of care psychology. His practice is informed by Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Exposure Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing.
