Leaders, your employees are suffering from financial stress—and they want your help

Given the rise of inflation, more employees are financially struggling. Increasingly, they’re turning to their employers for help, but employers aren’t necessarily equipped to help them. A new study from Morgan Stanley examines the state of financial benefits in the workplace. Here are the key findings:

• Employees are struggling financially: 62% of employees report lower savings. A third have scaled back on retirement fund contributions and a quarter report paying down less debt.
• This struggle is impacting their performance: Nearly 3 in 4 employees reported that money-related stress negatively affects their work and personal lives, up 7% from 2021. About 85% of HR leaders say that financial benefits are more important today than they were a year ago.
• But companies are lagging behind: 84% of employees want their employer to be more involved with helping them through financial challenges, but over 80% of HR leaders say employees have requested support that the company doesn’t offer. For example, the top three most requested benefits are access to a financial adviser, goal-based retirement planning, and access to retirement planning tools.
• The future doesn’t look promising: A whopping 87% of HR leaders believe that employees will leave if their company doesn’t offer financial benefits that meet their needs. Moreover, the future doesn’t look promising: 67% of HR leaders don’t think their companies offer benefits that meet employee expectations. 

“Employees are looking to their employers for the resources and support they need to navigate personal financial challenges—challenges that have a real impact on their professional and personal success, both day to day and long-term,” said Krystal Barker Buissereth, head of financial wellness at Morgan Stanley at Work.