Ep 15 - Why You Need to Think About Financial Wellness Now - Workology

Ep 15 - Why You Need to Think About Financial Wellness Now - Workology Ep 15 Why You Need to Think About Financial Wellness Now Welcome to the new Workology Go Podcast. In just under five minutes, we get you the HR and workplace news you need before you start your day. Get ready, get set and go with the Workology Go Podcast. Here are today’s HR and workplace news headlines from Workology Go Podcast. I’m Jessica Miller-Merrell. The Workology Go Podcast is sponsored by HSA Bank. Ep 15 Why You Need to Think About Financial Wellness Now Financial wellness is one of those things I don’t think we talk enough about especially when you think about that for most of us our paychecks from our jobs are our primary source of income. I’m not talking just about 401(k) enrollment and direct deposit conversations with your new hires. More than half of all employees want to make their own financial decisions but are looking to have someone validate that decision. Employees want financial wellness benefits with access to unbiased counselors and help understanding and using their benefits. And yet financial wellness is something that is grossly overlooked. I came across a great report from PwC that dives into financial wellness. It’s the 2018 Employee Financial Wellness Survey. I’ll link to it in the transcript of this podcast. A few more highlights from the PwC survey include, fifty-four percent of employees say that are stressed about their finances. I think about that stress and how it impacts us personally and professionally. When you are the one who is experiencing stress, it isn’t always easy to see how it is impacting you. You have these personal blinders on where you tell yourself and others, “I am really okay.” but the truth is that fifty-four percent of us are really not. Dr. Cynthia Akrill reminds me in a previous Workology podcast that not all stress is bad stress. First of all I think its really important to note that stress is not all bad. Stress is part of life and how we frame the challenge thats before us makes an enormous difference in how our body and mind respond to it. So when a person experiences too much stress its as many things in life. Theres this bell curve. And as the stress increases in the beginning your performance starts to rise. But as it goes further it starts to go down again and its not just your performance at work. Its the performance of your body as an as a health machine that goes down you name any negative outcome and whether its health productivity especially anything about your body that negative outcome can either be precipitated by or worsened by stress which makes sense because your body is putting all of its energy into reacting to the perceived danger that stresses it doesnt have the energy to do all of the other things like executive function repair of your immune system proper growth making the right neuron connections to learn things is compromised because all the energy is being spent on this stress management system how that turns out for the individual. Now that part is really individual the number one symptom noticed by most people is irritability first. But it could be doing so many other things. Some people are headache people. Thats me. Some people grit their teeth. Some people have stomach issues. A lot of people get that dizzy brain feeling. You cant really focus as well. A lot of different things and for other people they dont experience anything but its silently doing something the heart attack. Unfortunately Ive wound up with some really great clients because theyve lost someone they know about as an early age to heart attack or some other catastrophe that was somehow related to stress. And it manifests differently in everybody according to what your Achilles heel is and and how youre experiencing it. So maybe it’s not just about financial wellness but also providing our employees with other tools such as stress management and meditation programs too. All of these combined can make for a better life and also a more productive and present employee. What is Workology Go Podcast? And that’s this episode of the Workology Go Podcast. We’re your go to for HR and workplace news.  To learn more about the Workology Go Podcast, subscribe to us on Apple, Google, and Stitcher. Our podcast is also available on Alexa and Google Home. Learn more at workology.com/gopodcast and access this episodes resources, links and reports for more information. Featured Story 2018 Employee Financial Wellness Survey More Great Resource Ep 153 â€" How to Handle Workplace Stress The Power of Practicing Mindfulness at Work and in Life 6 Ways to Measure the Success of Financial Wellness Efforts How to Subscribe to the Workology Podcast Stitcher |  PocketCast |  iTunes |  Podcast RSS |  Google Play |  YouTube |  TuneIn You can also click here to find out how to be a guest on the Workology Podcast(s).