Financial advice 'improves productivity'

Tuesday, 13 April 2010

Offering workers advice about their financial affairs as an employee benefit could lead to improved productivity, a new study has found.

expert

According to the eighth annual Employee Benefits Trends Study, published by MetLife, 68 per cent of workers have become more affected by economic worries such as job insecurity and financial problems over the past 12 months.

The research found that 77 per cent of employees think their productivity would improve if they were offered money advice and guidance programmes at work, as just 37 per cent admit they are confident about their ability to make sound financial decisions.

In addition, 65 per cent of employers believe workers are less productive if they are worried about their personal finances, while 52 per cent think absenteeism rises when staff have to deal with money problems.

Dr Ronald Leopold, vice president of US business at MetLife, commented: "By promoting programmes that can help employees help themselves, employers can remove some of the financial burden from employees' shoulders."

Last month, Enid Arbelo, young professionals editor at democratandchronicle.com, wrote that younger workers wanted more than just financial rewards from their employers.
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