Study conducted by the Financial Health Network on behalf of
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley at Work today released an employee financial
wellness study conducted by the Financial Health Network on behalf
of the organization. The study finds that financial wellness is an
opportunity for employers to reduce employee stress, improve
retention and engagement and set themselves apart in the
marketplace.
A survey of 1,000 full-time employees of mid- to large-sized
companies found many employees are struggling financially and
financial stress has an impact on employees’ productivity at
work.1
“Providing financial wellness resources and education to
employees has tremendous benefits,” said Brian McDonald, Head of
Morgan Stanley at Work. “Finances are one of the greatest sources
of stress for employees, and those concerns affect their
productivity. Firms that invest in financial wellness resources for
employees will clearly set themselves apart in the
marketplace.”
The key findings of the study include:
Financial Wellness is an opportunity for employers – the
financial stress experienced by employees is affecting their
productivity at work. Employees are looking to employers for
solutions and are open to financial advice, including when offered
at work.
In fact, financial stress has spillover effects on employees’
productivity: nearly four in five employees (78%) who report high
financial stress say that they are distracted by stress at
work.
Finances are the greatest source of stress for employees: 58%
say their finances cause them stress, more than their work
situation (51%), health issues (45%) or family issues (44%). This
is true for employees at all income levels, even higher
wage-earners, with 52% of employees with household income of more
than $100,000 per year said that finances cause them stress.
Three out of four employees (74%) say that financial wellness
benefits are important for an employer to offer, while 60% of
employees surveyed say they’d be more likely to stay at a job if
their employer offered financial wellness benefits that help them
better manage their finances.
Employees have diverse financial needs – employees are
struggling with many aspects of their financial health and need
help with short-term goals like budgeting, managing debt and
building emergency savings, in addition to long-term goals like
retirement planning.
Half of employees spend more than they earn each month, while
37% say they have more debt than they can manage, and 41% said that
they do not have enough savings to cover three months of living
expenses. Even among higher-income employees, more than half report
debt and unexpected expenses as sources of stress (52% and 55%,
respectively), while 43% report that inadequate savings cause them
stress.
Employers can compete by offering holistic solutions –
fewer than one-third of employees reported that their employers
offer financial wellness benefits beyond retirement plans. Yet when
these benefits are offered, uptake and employee satisfaction is
high.
Among those employees whose employer offers financial wellness
benefits that help with financial needs such as emergency savings,
student loan repayment tools or access to financial coaching,
between 40 and 60 percent say they have used them in the past three
years.
Among those employees who use at least one financial wellness
benefit, 56% say that those benefits cause them to feel positively
about their employer.
Clear communication and ease of use are important for uptake
of employee financial wellness solutions – employees report
that making it easier to find and understand their benefits is more
important even than incentives in encouraging them to use the
benefits they are offered.
Nearly half (42%) of employees say that they do not feel
adequately informed about the benefits and programs their employer
offers. Employees who do not use every benefit offered cited a
clear explanation and easy access as the two most important factors
that would make it more likely for them to use the benefit, even
more than incentives.
Online calculations and live meetings with a financial advisor
are preferred ways to learn about benefits, with 66% and 62% saying
they prefer those methods, respectively. Other online approaches
such as in-person seminars (55%), live webinars (43%), chat rooms
(31%) or social media platforms (31%) are less popular.
Additional findings from the survey can be found here:
https://finhealthnetwork.org/research/workplace-financial-health/
Morgan Stanley at Work helps institutions and their participants
achieve their financial goals by leveraging the full breadth of
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Morgan Stanley at Work offers a
suite of workplace financial solutions, which helps organizations
maximize employee financial benefits.
This comprehensive offering includes Retirement, Financial
Wellness and a new premier equity management offering, Shareworks
by Morgan Stanley. Together, this offering provides in-depth
financial knowledge, resources and cutting-edge technology to
enable employers to empower their employees to utilize their
workplace benefits to help reduce financial stress and reach their
financial goals.
Financial Health Network and Greenwald & Associates are
neither employees of, nor affiliated with, Morgan Stanley Smith
Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”). Their opinions are solely their own
and do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley.
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, a global leader, provides
access to a wide range of products and services to individuals,
businesses and institutions, including brokerage and investment
advisory services, financial and wealth planning, cash management
and lending products and services, annuities and insurance,
retirement and trust services. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is
a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services
firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management
and investment management services. With offices in more than 41
countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including
corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more
information about Morgan Stanley, please visit
www.morganstanley.com.
1Data comes from a survey of 1,000 U.S. workers employed
full-time for companies with more than 500 employees. The survey
was conducted on behalf of the Financial Health Network in November
and December 2018 by Greenwald & Associates, with strategic
contributions and financial support from Morgan Stanley.
© 2019 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190606005484/en/
Media Relations:Christine Jockle, 914.225.6827,
Christine.Jockle@morganstanley.com
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