The trend of ‘quiet quitting’ is rising among employees. How can employers build a positive work culture and improve hiring and retention levels?
The hiring market is hot right now, and demand for talent is pushing businesses into fierce competition. Employers are still feeling the effects of The Great Resignation, a movement which is continuing to drive employees to quit jobs in search of better benefits and higher salaries. Excessive turnover rates can lead to expensive hiring and training processes which, in turn, can reflect negatively on the financial performance of the business.
Against a backdrop of general uncertainty in the form of Covid-19 and global conflict, HR leaders are also being presented with unprecedented workplace situations which require skillful flexibility to navigate. Change is now the norm, so cultivating a positive, permanent work culture can be a challenge.
It’s safe to say this is a complex market. To succeed in it, employers need to find a competitive advantage which will set them apart from other employers and ultimately help them improve hiring and retention levels.
Finding the edge
The nature of employee benefits has shifted dramatically over the past few years. Accelerated by Covid-19 and the subsequent normalization of remote working, a strong set of benefits is now an expectation rather than an extra perk. Within these packages, employees are looking to their employer to offer ‘hard’ benefits in the form of financial support. A lack of support has led to the trend of ‘quiet quitting,’ where employees are losing the motivation to go above and beyond at work. Employees are now expecting employers to go above and beyond for company staff.
This expectation is understandable, given the current economic climate. Inflation in the US is soaring to the highest levels in decades, with similar spikes being recorded around the world. As a result, people are struggling to meet household expenses each month. On top of that, 89% of employees occasionally encounter expenses that their paychecks cannot cover. Rising interest rates on student loans and other household debt is impacting employees at all levels, from recent graduates to managers, and is increasing the demand for company-wide action.
Employers have an opportunity to respond in two ways. The first is rolling out long-term strategies to uphold equitable hiring practices. A successful DEI strategy is essential to ensuring equal pay and moving the needle on gender parity. It also secures a pipeline of diverse voices and perspectives which is key to building a healthy, inclusive workplace. Secondly, against today’s landscape of increasing economic volatility, employees need effective action to improve both their immediate situations and overall financial wellness.
By adopting financial wellness into their wider benefits packages, leaders can gain an edge over rival businesses, and make themselves more attractive to existing and potential employees.
What are financial wellness benefits?
Before we get into the benefits, it’s important to understand the definition of financial wellness. Essentially, it’s a state where one is able to comfortably meet current and future financial obligations, a feeling of general economic security. As those in a position of authority, employers have a key role to play in supporting employees to achieve financial wellness, and benefits are the perfect channel to facilitate this.
While retirement and investment plans are common in today’s portfolio of benefits packages, financial wellness benefits are less universal. Instead, they exist as voluntary additions which employers can promote to create a happy, healthy workplace, and at the same time, attract more talent.
Benefits can range from services such as financial literacy resources, for example coaching, to loan services that are automatically repaid through payroll to help improve employee credit. These benefits can make a direct, positive impact on an employee’s personal finances, and offer valuable relief to situations which might be causing stress or concern.
Available throughout a person’s employment, financial wellness benefits can be a life raft during their time at work. Some programs also provide solutions for employees who leave jobs with payroll loans still unpaid, and help to find alternative methods of payment which work for employer and employee alike.
How does this feed into workforce retention?
Ever since the pandemic, there’s been a lot of corporate jargon around ‘wellbeing’ and prioritizing employee mental health. But are employers following through on their promises? A study from Bank of America found that only half (51%) of employees rate their financial wellness as good or excellent, despite 95% of employers claiming they feel a responsibility over it. We know that financial burdens can put a significant strain on overall mental health, yet many organizations are not doing enough to support this branch of wellness. This stress and mental toll is popularizing movements like the Great Resignation and ‘quiet quitting,’ which is why it’s more important than ever that employers ensure they are properly supporting employees.
Boosting financial wellness among employees helps to reduce stress, increase job satisfaction and achieve financial goals. As such, choosing to promote financial wellness in benefits packages is a great way to set your business apart from those refusing to extend beyond 401(k).
The simple truth is that employee satisfaction and employee retention go hand-in-hand.
By investing in financial wellness benefits, employers can help to improve the quality of life of their employees.
As a result, their business will be more attractive to those searching for a new job, particularly amid this era of extreme resignation rates and high employee turnover.
A key takeaway, then: never underestimate financial stability as a route to improving happiness, productivity and appeal in the workplace. Investing in employee financial wellness benefits will inevitably benefit employers in the long-term. A win-win, really
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Einat Steklov
Founder, Kashable
Einat is an accomplished executive with P&L accountability, at the confluence of law and finance. She is results-oriented with proven success in financing companies with responsibility for strategic market positioning and demonstrated track record in increasing sales and building brand recognition in highly competitive markets. She combines business acumen with innate leadership abilities to recruit, build and retain top performing professionals and excels in dynamic, challenging environments while remaining pragmatic and attentive.
Einat is founder of Kashable, a financial wellness company that offers socially responsible financing to employees as an employer-sponsored voluntary benefit and was created with the vision of transforming the way working America accesses credit by providing financing solutions that empower employees to take charge of their health, wealth and financial wellness. Kashable works with employers to provide employees with access to low-cost credit to help bridge the financial gap caused by personal emergencies and other times of hardship. Kashable’s financial wellness program offers an intelligent alternative to 401(k) loans, credit cards, and pay advances. Einat founded Kashable.
Einat is also founder of Coral Capital Solutions, a commercial finance company specializing in factoring and asset-based lending that launched in 2008. Since inception, Coral Capital has enabled dozens of businesses who otherwise would not have been able to successfully grow, improve their performance, and realize their full potential through Coral Capital’s affordable financing solutions.
