As the world begins to shift from a pandemic to an endemic state, the impact from the financial toll on U.S. full-time employees continues unabated. Over the past year, 54% of full-time employees struggled to cover monthly living expenses. These results reflect how financial pressures have increased for most full-time employees, according to “The State of Employee Finances: 2022, A Purchasing Power® Report,” a second annual survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Purchasing Power, a voluntary benefit company. The survey was conducted from March 2 – 4, 2022, among 1,105 U.S. full-time employees ages 18 and older, defined as those who are employed full time or whose spouse is employed full time.
Further:
- 37% lived paycheck-to-paycheck while 17% were unable to cover monthly living expenses.
- 44% had difficulty paying monthly bills on time.
- 16% nearly or fully maxed-out their credit cards from overuse during the pandemic.
- And 24% have postponed purchasing a major appliance, electronic or other needed item until their finances improve.
Another crucial fact revealed from comparing the 2022 results to the 2021 responses is that full-time employees are experiencing increases in financial stress across the board:
- 28% confirm it affects their ability to focus at work (up from 24%)
- 34% report it affects their physical health (up from 33%)
- 45% say it affects overall stress at home (up from 39%)
- 25% claim it affects their job satisfaction (up from 21%)
- 50% believe it affects their sleep (up from 45%)
- And 46% confirm it affects their overall happiness (up from 43%).
“What is surprising is that these results aren’t exclusive to households with lower incomes. Our report shows that among households with income of $100,000 or more over the past year, 17% have been unable to cover monthly living expenses, and 25% have lived paycheck to paycheck, barely covering monthly living expenses,” said Trey Loughran, CEO, Purchasing Power.
“Over seven in ten full-time employees (72%) believe that employers have a responsibility to help employees improve their financial well-being,” he added. “The good news is that employers can take action with more robust and comprehensive voluntary benefits offerings that include a holistic approach to employees’ financial well-being. In fact, 80% of full-time employees say the benefits their employer offers has an impact on their decision to stay at their current job.”
Loughran continued, “This report provides us with a clear indicator of what employees’ financial situation and financial stress levels are today, and where we can expect them to be in a year from now. The survey also shows that employers who implement a spectrum of financial well-being benefits will gain from increased employee performance and retention.”
For further information, access “The State of Employee Finances: 2022, A Purchasing Power® Report” at https://corp.purchasingpower.com/resources/industry-insights/2022-state-of-employee-finances.
Survey Methodology
The 2022survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Purchasing Power from March 2 – 4, 2022 among 1,105 U.S. adults ages 18 and older who are employed full time or whose spouse is employed full time. The 2021 survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Purchasing Power from February 10-12, 2021 among 917 U.S. adults ages 18 and older who are employed full time or whose spouse is employed full time. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 2.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact jswaney@purchasingpower.com.
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