John Cunliffe, Specialist Financial Adviser at Wesleyan says that providing greater financial wellbeing guidance for employees is essential for individuals and organisations and offers tips on how academy trusts can best support their staff in this important area.
The NASUWT’s Teacher Wellbeing Survey 2024 found that 84% of teachers have experienced more work-related stress in the last 12 months. It is an indication of the growing challenges teachers, headteachers and other school staff are facing in the workplace, and underlines why it is imperative for trusts to focus on delivering a healthy, supportive environment.
This should include supporting employees’ financial wellbeing.
The Government’s Money and Pensions Service defines financial wellbeing as “feeling secure and in control of your finances, both now and in the future. It’s knowing that you can pay the bills today, can deal with the unexpected, and are on track for a healthy financial future.”
However, with an ongoing cost of living crisis, this sense of security might be hard to achieve. And the mental strain of living with financial worries can be immense – not just contributing to poor mental wellbeing, but potentially poor physical wellbeing, too.
Taking the time to ensure staff have the support they need to achieve financial wellbeing can improve morale and potentially reduce absence among colleagues, in turn saving schools and academy trusts from the cost of supply cover and minimising pressure on the wider workforce. It can also help to improve performance and plays a key role in attracting and retaining the very best talent. In fact, in PWC’s 2023 financial wellness survey, 73% of financially stressed employees and 54% of non-financially stressed employees said they would be attracted to another employer that cares about their financial wellbeing.
“Taking the time to ensure staff have the support they need to achieve financial wellbeing can improve morale and potentially reduce absence among colleagues”
But how can trusts provide financial wellbeing support? What sort of areas should this cover?
Here, we explore some of the key things to consider
