Stress affects the performance of employees, whether it was caused by an ongoing problem at the workplace or an issue that cropped up at home.
Stress, especially if it is long-term and chronic, can lead to numerous health conditions, including heart disease, digestive problems, insomnia, anxiety, and depression. Despite the negative consequences, many adults experience stress regularly.
Money is one of the most common causes of stress among working adults.
Stress also affects the performance of adults in the workplace. It inhibits them from doing their best and being at their most productive. Helping any member of your team, who is going through a difficult financial situation, benefits your office, too. Here’s how.
Mortgage Support
Your employees, at some point, would want to stop renting and purchase their own house. When that happens, their employers can also be present.
Having debt, which is what happens when one takes out a mortgage, causes stress. You can prevent it from becoming a problem by giving as much support as you can.
Applying for a home loan is a tiring and time-consuming process. You can make it easier by providing advice such as finding mortgage companies that offer the best rate in your town or state, requirements, how to budget, etc.
Handing them resources that will speed up the process and make taking out a mortgage easier would free up their mind and time, allowing them to focus on their work better. It will also make them feel valued and cared for by the business, increasing their motivation to do their best, and improving their overall well-being.
Your office can even partner with mortgage brokers or lenders so that your staff can get discounts and other perks.
Financial Literacy Workshops
Not every adult is good with money. In fact, in the United States, most adults are in some form of debt. One of the most common types of debt is credit card, which an increasing number of people use it to purchase products and services online and in-store.
Your staff would benefit from sitting through financial literacy workshops that will help them manage their money better or create solutions to their current money woes. A financial adviser can also talk to older employees as they prepare for their retirement.
It will prevent them from having to request salary advances, making withdrawals from company 401(k)s, or seeking employment in another company that will pay them better.
Small businesses can start by providing online tools that the staff can use to create budgets or estimate retirement needs. Access to eLearning courses will enable them to make better financial decisions.
Local Restaurant Discounts
Negotiate with businesses around your workplace such as restaurants and cafes, gyms, or grocery stores if they can offer discount schemes that your employees can take advantage of. It is a simple perk, but it would vastly help your team save money.
Vacation Reimbursements
Stress can better be managed if the individual has a healthy work-life balance. If they are at the office all the time, they would eventually feel burnout.
Your business would benefit from encouraging your staff to go on vacation.
American employers are not required by law to offer paid time off to employees. For comparison, in European countries, workers are allowed to miss work and go on holiday without losing their income.
A vacation melts away stress. It relaxes the mind and the body, enough to recharge them for the next several weeks and months of work. Allowing your team to go on paid vacations throughout the year will improve their overall well-being.
If the company reimburses a portion of their expenses during their time off, they would be more likely to go on holiday.
College Scholarships
One of the best gifts that you can give to your employees is taking away the burden of sending their children to university.
College is, as you know, very expensive. Many take out loans so that they can afford to go to school. These loans take years to be paid off.
You do not have to send every kid to college. A scholarship program, based on grades and achievements, can help you select a handful that your company will support.
Having a scholarship program in place is an added incentive for employees to stay within the company.
The role of an employer in the lives of their employees does not stop when the paychecks are deposited into their bank accounts. An employer can help make the lives of their staff better by paying attention to what they need.
Addressing common stressors that affect employees will benefit the business, too.
