We need to talk about money... September 2020

Money – and in tandem, financial wellbeing – has long been a taboo topic in the UK, yet now more than ever, financial concerns are a significant contributor to chronic stress.

Our relationship with money is a complex one; concerns about money can promote or exacerbate poor mental health, and poor mental health can prevent us from managing money responsibly and make us more vulnerable to negative spending behaviours.

Through our work with the Supply Chain Sustainability School, we are committed to spotlighting this important topic as we embark on a 360-degree programme of wellbeing training for the built environment. The School has teamed up with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), the Lighthouse Club, and other industry experts to develop the understanding of financial wellbeing and its implications for employees and the supply chain.

Training available includes (free to join):

• Financial wellbeing in the workplace webinar: Tuesday 6 October. Understand what it is and why it’s important and how you can support employees and business.
• ‘Bang on budget’: Managing personal finance webinar: Monday 19 October. Understand how to improve personal financial management to improve wellbeing.

Getting to know the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS)

Money worries are the biggest cause of stress for UK employees, and are damaging to business, too.  People take their money worries to work, affecting their performance and levels of absenteeism. The case for financial wellbeing at work is compelling:

• Almost 8 in 10 UK employees take their money worries to work.[1]
• 2 million worker days each year are lost in absences because of a lack of financial security. That’s the equivalent of £626 million in lost output.[2]
• Nearly 7 in 10 UK employers believe staff performance is negatively affected when employees are under financial pressure.[3]

So, what is financial wellbeing?

MaPS describes financial wellbeing as feeling secure and in control of your money. It’s knowing that you can pay the bills today, can deal with the unexpected, and are on track for a healthy financial future. In short: being confident and empowered. MaPS brings together three respected providers of free, impartial financial guidance:

• Money Advice Service
• Pension Wise
• The Pensions Advisory Service

Why free, impartial money guidance for employees is important

MaPs’ vision is ‘everyone making the most of their money and pensions’,  by supporting employers to improve financial wellbeing in the workplace.  MaPS provides free support and practical ways to help organisations of all sizes and from all sectors to build it in the workplace. This can include sharing links and free printed guides for staff, embedding content into internal communication channels, supporting businesses to develop a strategy or running a pilot. You can contact the MaPS partnerships team to see what’s available to help your specific organisation.

Useful tools and more information for financial wellbeing

The MaPS Money Navigator Tool gives you action plans based on your own situation, including the money issues you need to tackle first, how to stay on top of bills and payments, what extra help and support you’re entitled to, and where you can get free advice for debt, housing or redundancy.

Alongside the Money Navigator Tool, the new COVID-19 money advice hub provides additional support.

You can also see what is happening in the School on the topic as a whole.

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References:

[1] 94% of UK employees admit to worrying about money and, of these, 77% say that money worries impact them at work.’ Close Brothers, The Financial Wellbeing Index (2019).

[2] Centre for Economics and Business Research, Financial wellbeing and productivity: A study into the financial wellbeing of UK employees and its impact on productivity, 2018.

[3] 69% of UK employers. Neyber (2018), The DNA of Financial Wellbeing 2018.