U.S. workers who have problems managing their day-to-day finances are more likely to experience unmanageable financial stress than those who have a handle on their finances.
That's among the findings in the annual "Financial Stress Research" study from El Segundo, California-based Financial Finesse, which found that cash management is a primary underlying factor in determining an employee's financial stress level.
Most employees, according to the study, continue to worry about their personal finances, with 25% of employees who took a financial wellness assessment in 2015 indicating high or overwhelming financial stress. Approximately a third were assessed as vulnerable to living beyond their means and having serious debt.
Employees suffering from unmanageable stress levels are generally the ones living paycheck to paycheck, with expenses exceeding their incomes and/or with large debt balances and no emergency savings. Just 36% of these have a handle on their cash flow, while only 16% have an emergency fund and 67% pay their bills on time.
Why should this worry employers? The stress employees feel translates to employers in terms of presenteeism, absenteeism and increased healthcare costs. For one thing, 60% of employees are losing sleep over their financial situations, resulting in a loss of 11.3 days of productivity per year.
