What are the effects of financial stress?
There are some alarming statistics for businesses around the impact of debt on employees, stress and productivity in the workplace. In a study carried out by CIPHR in 2021, it was found that financial worries are the joint main cause of stress in the UK. Stress is not classed as an illness, but it has a knock-on effect to a person’s mental health and can cause anxiety and depression, amongst other conditions. The biggest cause of absenteeism in the workplace in the UK is because of mental health conditions.
According to the Mental Health Foundation, employees affected by work-related stress lose an average of 24 working days per year. In a report in 2016, it was found that financial stress costs the UK economy nearly £121 billion each year. It was also reported that 17.5 million hours were lost due to absence from work because of financial stress.
The cause of this stress may be because of pay issues at work – which is why it’s critical to get employees’ pay right first time, every time. But financial stress can also be caused by lack of savings, bad financial planning, missing important payments or concern about inadequate financial provision for later life.
While absenteeism costs a company money, and is a measurable statistic, additional productivity is lost through ‘presenteeism.’ This is where an employee is present at work but their productivity is low because they’re focusing on other things, such as the state of their finances.
In a survey carried out pre-pandemic, 25% of respondents stated that the stress of their financial situation had a negative impact on their productivity at work. In other studies, employees who are experiencing financial stress admitted to spending more than 20 hours each month, whilst at work, trying to resolve their money issues.
With statistics like these, employers are recognising how helping their employees improve their financial wellness is an essential responsibility. Good financial wellness is important for both the good of the employee and for the good of the business.
PayCaptain is a solution that’s designed to support and positively impact the financial well-being of employees. Whilst the solution is designed to help employers pay their workforce regardless of their income level, PayCaptain incorporates functionality that’s specifically designed to improve the financial resilience for people struggling with money.
What are the Benefits of Payment Splitting?
With a host of innovative features to help employees struggling with debt, the PayCaptain app gives employees increased control over their finances, as well as offering more support in times of financial hardship.
One of the features that’s incorporated into the PayCaptain app is Payment Splitting. This functionality gives the employee the capability to set up automatic payday payments in the app, directly from their net pay. This eliminates the pain of having to move money around after getting paid and also removes the risk of paying essential bills late.
Employees can set up automatic payday payments to their mortgage or landlord, as well as to credit cards or loan repayments. Payments for household or personal bills can be set up, as well as payments made to friends or family members.
To improve their financial resilience, employees can also send payments to savings accounts, or transfer balances to personal/joint bank accounts.
In recent months, the PayCaptain team has seen an increase in employees who automatically send a proportion of their pay to their crypto-currency accounts, like Coinbase, or share trading accounts like Freetrade. They send this direct from their net pay using Payment splitting.
To hear about Payment Splitting from our Founder and CEO, Simon Bocca, you can watch this short video.
In summary, financial stress has a huge impact on both employees and employers. Paying bills on time and meeting financial commitments, as well as making saving provisions for the future, has a positive effect on employees. Increased resilience can reduce stress and minimise absenteeism. It's vital for both financial and psychological well-being.
With functionality such as Payment splitting from PayCaptain, employees can eliminate the risk of missing important payments, as well as building financial security and increasing independence for the future.
To learn more about how PayCaptain can help your business and improve the financial well-being of your employees, please contact us for an informal, no-obligation chat. We’ll be happy to demo PayCaptain for you.
