A company’s culture is integral to its success. After all, any business that has a great working environment is bound to reap a lot of benefits, such as increased productivity, a high level of employee satisfaction, and overall healthier employees. Without a motivated or productive workforce driving your operations forward, your business will have difficulty achieving its goals.

At this point, you might be asking: What, then, does it take to foster a good working culture? How can you ensure your workforce is happy, healthy, and motivated?

While there are plenty of strategies to cultivate a positive working environment, managers tend to overlook a crucial factor — an employee’s financial health.

The scope of financial health is surprisingly large. Not only does it mean being able to pay bills on time and buying things you want, but it also entails having financial security and feeling like your financial goals are attainable. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been achievable for everyone, as only a dismal 28% of Americans are considered financially healthy.

While some companies choose to go for exciting benefits to foster company culture, such as gym memberships or company nights out, providing ample compensation and well thought-out benefits still have the most impact on financial health. At the end of the day, this is what determines the overall quality of life they live and drives many of their choices outside of work. Not to mention, our article entitled ‘The Importance of Employee Benefits’ notes that offering competitive benefits can also help increase company retention. If an employee doesn’t feel valued by the company through compensation or benefits, it’s likely to impact their productivity and loyalty — and this dissatisfaction can sour your company culture.

Despite all this, it seems that too few Americans are getting paid enough to achieve financial security and good overall financial health, as Forbes reports that 44% of Americans don’t have enough money to even cover a $400 emergency, while 56% have $0 saved for retirement. Not to mention, how widespread debt has made living a good quality of life hard to attain, as employees can rack up debt from many places — student loans, housing, and most prominently, credit card debt. In fact, an article by Marcus on managing credit card debt points out that nearly 2 in 5 creditworthy Americans are currently saddled with credit card debt. And while for some, debt has become part and parcel of everyday life, many see this as a great source of stress. Unfortunately, this lack of financial security not only affects an employee’s financial wellbeing, but it also takes a toll on their overall physical and mental health as well.

The connection between financial, mental, and physical health is more direct than it seems. Problems with finances can cause a lot more issues than just stress, as it can even give employees serious enough problems to send them to the hospital. For instance, a study by Northwestern University found a link between high levels of debt and diastolic blood pressure, which could increase the risk of a stroke or other heart problems. In addition, stressing out about finances could lead to a higher chance of depression and anxiety. While these are just a few examples of the many health risks financial problems pose, these alone could impact their productivity and motivation, and even send them further into debt with expensive healthcare costs. In an environment where coworkers are constantly feeling sick and are obsessing over their finances, the overall performance of any team is bound to go down.

That said, it’s important to offer competitive compensation and benefits that not only attract employees, but retain them and keep them happy. As employees drive your business forward, it’s vital to consider their financial health — after all, it is directly linked to your company’s success.

A company’s culture is integral to its success. After all, any business that has a great working environment is bound to reap a lot of benefits, such as increased productivity, a high level of employee satisfaction, and overall healthier employees. Without a motivated or productive workforce driving your operations forward, your business will have difficulty achieving its goals.

At this point, you might be asking: What, then, does it take to foster a good working culture? How can you ensure your workforce is happy, healthy, and motivated?

While there are plenty of strategies to cultivate a positive working environment, managers tend to overlook a crucial factor — an employee’s financial health.

The scope of financial health is surprisingly large. Not only does it mean being able to pay bills on time and buying things you want, but it also entails having financial security and feeling like your financial goals are attainable. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been achievable for everyone, as only a dismal 28% of Americans are considered financially healthy.

While some companies choose to go for exciting benefits to foster company culture, such as gym memberships or company nights out, providing ample compensation and well thought-out benefits still have the most impact on financial health. At the end of the day, this is what determines the overall quality of life they live and drives many of their choices outside of work. Not to mention, our article entitled ‘The Importance of Employee Benefits’ notes that offering competitive benefits can also help increase company retention. If an employee doesn’t feel valued by the company through compensation or benefits, it’s likely to impact their productivity and loyalty — and this dissatisfaction can sour your company culture.

Despite all this, it seems that too few Americans are getting paid enough to achieve financial security and good overall financial health, as Forbes reports that 44% of Americans don’t have enough money to even cover a $400 emergency, while 56% have $0 saved for retirement. Not to mention, how widespread debt has made living a good quality of life hard to attain, as employees can rack up debt from many places — student loans, housing, and most prominently, credit card debt. In fact, an article by Marcus on managing credit card debt points out that nearly 2 in 5 creditworthy Americans are currently saddled with credit card debt. And while for some, debt has become part and parcel of everyday life, many see this as a great source of stress. Unfortunately, this lack of financial security not only affects an employee’s financial wellbeing, but it also takes a toll on their overall physical and mental health as well.

The connection between financial, mental, and physical health is more direct than it seems. Problems with finances can cause a lot more issues than just stress, as it can even give employees serious enough problems to send them to the hospital. For instance, a study by Northwestern University found a link between high levels of debt and diastolic blood pressure, which could increase the risk of a stroke or other heart problems. In addition, stressing out about finances could lead to a higher chance of depression and anxiety. While these are just a few examples of the many health risks financial problems pose, these alone could impact their productivity and motivation, and even send them further into debt with expensive healthcare costs. In an environment where coworkers are constantly feeling sick and are obsessing over their finances, the overall performance of any team is bound to go down.

That said, it’s important to offer competitive compensation and benefits that not only attract employees, but retain them and keep them happy. As employees drive your business forward, it’s vital to consider their financial health — after all, it is directly linked to your company’s success.

Specially written for RMI-Solutions.Com

By: Avery Lucy