financial wellness programs Archives

COVID-19 2020: Managing Employees During the Coronavirus Pandemic

by LizStevens | Apr 8, 2020 | Blog

COVID-19 2020: Managing employees during the Coronavirus pandemic. Dealing with employees who may be sick and making temporary policy modifications.

More than 70 percent of companies didn’t have a crisis management plan in place when the Coronavirus outbreak hit, according to a survey by Blank Rome. Even those who did anticipated natural disasters like floods and fires, but not a global pandemic like COVID-19.

Without an emergency response plan in place, how are employers dealing with things like emergency contact systems, data privacy, defining essential functions, managing employees who become ill and avoiding panicked reactions to negative news?

COVID-19 2020: Managing Employees During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Here are some of the temporary modifications employers told Blank Rome they’ve made in response to the Coronavirus pandemic:

We are following CDC guidelines; if an employee is sick we are sending them home.
We started specific weekly communications on March 3rd regarding precautionary personal and workplace hygiene, staying home or going home if ill, social distancing. We applied more specific polices on March 13th and formally implemented work from home as well as rotational work assignments.
We extended the absence period for returning to work from 3 to 5 days and on a case by case basis in some instances.
We have released anyone with symptoms and required doctors notes to return.
We’ve requested all employees to get tested and made arrangements for the testing to get done.
We are operating on the honor system for absences or modifications and accommodations during this time.
We are asking screening questions and are considering temperature checks.

Responding to Employee Testing Positive for COVID-19

Nearly 7 percent of the companies Blank Rome surveyed had an employee test positive for COVID-19 and in response to it:

23 percent of employers converted to remote work for all employees not required to be on-site.
17 percent continued operations with modifications.
3 percent closed the entire worksite where the employee who tested positive reported.

Managing Paid Time Off

Over 40 percent of employers have paid employees who show symptoms of COVID-19 but haven’t been diagnosed or allowed them to use paid time off. Nearly half of businesses that have had to temporarily shut down business operations are still paying workers and more than 20 percent are requiring use of paid time off.

Managing Employee Complaints

Less than 15 percent of employers have received COVID-19-related complaints from employees, but more than 90 percent have required responses that don’t fall within the traditional framework of complaints, including disability discrimination, retaliation and OSHA. Here are some of the COVID-19-related complaints employers have received:

Employees requesting shutdown.
Employees complaining about lack of sanitizer and masks.
Employees frustrated about working remotely.
Employees complaining the company failed to act quickly and put inexperienced people in charge of decision making.
Employees complaining that there isn’t a policy in place.
Employees upset about being required to come into work when they think they should be allowed to stay home during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Employees concerned about how matters will be handled.

How employers respond to the Coronavirus pandemic will have a significant impact on business for years to come. It’s crucial to empathize with employee concerns and communicate what the company is doing to protect both employees and business operations.

Helping Employees During Coronavirus/COVID-19 Pandemic

by LizStevens | Mar 31, 2020 | Blog

Helping employees during Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. How you support workers during the outbreak could have a lasting impact on recruitment and retention efforts.

What will you say when asked how you helped employees during the COVID-19 outbreak?

We are in the midst of a crisis. The Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak is dramatically reshaping the working world. Healthcare workers, delivery drivers and grocery store shelf stockers are being overworked while waiters, bartenders, musicians and those in the hospitality industry are dealing with shutdowns, layoffs, and unemployment. All of them are looking to their employers for help to get through this uncertain time.

How employers respond to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic will have a significant impact on recruiting and retention efforts for quite some time.

Helping Employees During Coronavirus/COVID-19 Outbreak

Employees at all levels are dealing with increased financial stress. Nearly 60 percent of Americans say the Coronavirus has had a negative impact on their finances, according to a survey by the National Financial Educators Council. Over 40 percent of them are more concerned about their personal finances than they are about contracting COVID-19.

There are a number of ways employers can support employees during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. These are a few areas some organizations are zeroing in on and others where the U.S. government is providing assistance:

Financial Wellness

Employees want to know how the Coronavirus is going to impact their retirement savings, their monthly budget, their credit card debt, their paycheck and they want to know what they should do about it. Best Money Moves, a mobile-first financial wellness platform, just added new resources to answer employees’ questions about how the Coronavirus will affect their finances and for a limited time, new clients can get Best Money Moves free for the first three months.
Paid Leave

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) mandates certain employers provide up to two weeks of paid sick leave related to COVID-19. Employers who provide paid sick leave under the FFCRA will be eligible for two new refundable payroll tax credits that the IRS will “immediately and fully reimburse” according to the IRS and the U.S. Department of Labor. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) provides almost $350 billion in partially forgivable loans to small businesses and nonprofits with 500 or fewer employees impacted by COVID-19 to help cover payroll and temporary closings.
Unemployment Resources

Some employers, especially small businesses, will have to layoff and furlough employees during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak. Whenever possible, employers should provide severance pay, extend health benefits and give a tentative rehiring date if the business plans to remain open. Employers should also help employees navigate the unemployment process.
Mental Health

Mental health platforms that offer teletherapy have noticed a surge in usage during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. People are anxious, depressed, isolated and lonely as they socially distance themselves and stay home to limit the spread of the Coronavirus. Providing resources for those who are struggling with their mental health during this crisis is important. Employers should evaluate their current mental health benefits and consider telehealth solutions.
Virtual Recruiting

Employers in essential services are struggling to fill open positions and comply with social distancing restrictions. CVS Health will fill 50,000 full-time and part-time positions through virtual job fairs, interviews and job tryouts. Walmart is shortening its hiring process to hire associates “in as little as 24 hours” to meet its goal of hiring 150,000 new workers by the end of May. Employers who were in the process of evaluating and interviewing top talent who still need to fill the position and have the budget to do so shouldn’t suspend the hiring process until the Coronavirus outbreak is behind us. Instead, those employers should look to virtual solutions like video conferencing for interviews.

This is a defining moment for business leaders around the world. Years from now potential hires will ask employers what they did to support employees during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. What will your organization have to say when that time comes?

Coronavirus 2020: Effectively Working from Home

by LizStevens | Mar 25, 2020 | Blog

Coronavirus 2020: effectively working from home. A good remote work policy can help businesses maintain productivity while limiting the spread of COVID-19.

Businesses everywhere are implementing work from home policies to protect their employees but maintain business operations while federal, state and local governments impose various restrictions on public gatherings to limit the spread of the Coronavirus.

Establishing a successful work-from-home program is not easy. Communicating with employees to stay on track while minimizing panic about COVID-19 in the coming weeks and months is critical.

Establishing a Work from Home Policy

Organizations without a remote work plan in place can begin to assess their ability to do so in four steps:

Review Operations. Determine what processes and procedures can be completed digitally. Explore remote solutions for things like team meetings, data security and certain HR functions.
Evaluate Equipment. Make a list of the equipment employees need to get their work done and see what that looks like from home. Find out if employees already own laptops or computers and if they don’t, decide if loaning out office equipment will be worthwhile.
Plan Procedure. Figure out how the team will communicate with one another to stay on track to reach business goals. Think about how frequently group and individual check ins should occur and how to monitor remote work performance.
Communicate. Let employees know about your new work from home policy and ask for their feedback. Employees want to be involved in organizational change and they might be able to fill in any unforeseen gaps in the policy with their on-the-job knowledge.

A good remote work strategy is the best way to keep both your employees and your business safe during the Coronavirus outbreak and if you don’t have one yet, now is the time to put one together.

Coronavirus 2020: Effectively Working from Home

Here are three tips for effectively working from home during the Coronavirus outbreak:

Keep the Routine. It’s important in times like these to keep certain routines to minimize stress and maintain a sense of normalcy. It’ll also be easier to monitor remote work performance if employees are expected to be online during specific hours.
Open Communications. More than half of remote workers feel lonely, according to research by Porch. Checking in with colleagues, asking them how they’re doing with everything going on, sharing something you think they’ll find funny, asking about their families, talking about a news headline, all of these things can increase social connectedness and stave off the loneliness.
Encourage Work/Life Balance. Recommend that employees get ready for work like they would on any other day. Encourage them to designate a space for work and take breaks at regular times to get in the working mindset. It can be nice on occasion to work from bed in your pajamas, especially if you’re sick, but it’s not good for productivity or mental health to continue to do so for an extended period of time.

More on the Coronavirus and Work From Home Policies

How Will the Coronavirus Impact Your Business?

How Does Remote Working Work?

Coronavirus and Financial Stress: How Will Employees React?

Are Employees Who Work From Home Happier?

Do Flexible Work Schedules Work?

Why You Need a Remote Work Strategy

Coronavirus and Financial Stress: How Will Employees React?

by LizStevens | Mar 5, 2020 | Blog

Coronavirus and financial stress: how will employees react? They’re worried about losing pay, their jobs and being unable to afford the costs of healthcare if they’re infected with COVID-19.

Update: The number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S. were updated as of April 13th, 2020.

There are more than 500,000 known cases of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, in the U.S. and over 20,000 people have died. Stores everywhere are selling out of hand sanitizer, face masks, groceries and household supplies as Americans panic about an outbreak reaching their neighborhood.

Employees, especially those in industries like hospitality, retail, healthcare and food service are fearful of what will happen if they’re infected with the coronavirus. Without the ability to work remotely, they worry about losing pay or their jobs while they’re quarantined.

“We’re seeing a significant number of employees register higher levels of financial stress in the past two weeks, which isn’t much of a surprise given the financial ramifications of catching coronavirus,” said Ilyce Glink, CEO of Best Money Moves.

More than 75 percent of employees live paycheck-to-paycheck. Nearly 40 percent couldn’t come up with $3,000 if an unexpected expense arose in the next month, according to a report by Willis Tower Watson.

One thing is clear: The coronavirus is heightening the financial stress employees experience every day, further damaging employee productivity and engagement.

Financial Stress and the Coronavirus: How Will Employees React?

“Financial health is not just about income. The impact of financial problems on employees’ health and stress, even for those who aren’t living paycheck to paycheck, is unmistakable,” said Steve Nyce, senior economist, Willis Towers Watson.

Money is a significant source of stress for 90 percent of employees, according to research by Thriving Wallet. More than 60 percent of employees feel as though their financial difficulties are piling up so much they can’t overcome them and 25 percent make purchases they later regret when experiencing financial stress.

Even a high salary doesn’t always salve financial woes — 18 percent of employees making more than $100,000 annually live paycheck to paycheck. Some employees are unable to pay for basic needs like healthcare, while others are having trouble saving for retirement.

And for employees who get sick, high-deductible healthcare plans have shifted much of the cost onto the shoulders of already struggling employees, who must find a way to come up with the initial costs of care for themselves and their families. (As of this writing, it’s unclear whether the US will shoulder the cost of testing for coronavirus, if insurance will cover it, or if employees themselves will have to pay that cost. Regardless, if an individual is forced to quarantine, the financial cost will be painful.)

Willis Tower Watson defines those who are “struggling” financially as those who live paycheck-to-paycheck and have difficulty controlling spending. Over 60 percent of those who are “struggling” aren’t fully engaged at work. Close to 40 percent said money concerns keep them from doing their best at work. More than 40 percent of “struggling” employees reported suffering from stress, anxiety or depression over the past two years, compared with just 16 percent of employees without financial worries.

Roughly 40 percent of Americans don’t have emergency savings and skip medical care they can’t afford. If those employees get sick, they might not get tested and come to work sick, infecting colleagues and limiting productivity.

How Financial Wellness Programs Pay Off

Even in a good economy, the majority of employees say financial stress is their top stressor. In a bad economy, that number grows exponentially.

A good financial wellness program can ease financial stress and help employees boost their financial wellbeing. Willis Tower Watson found nearly 70 percent of employees who were given access to four or more financial wellness tools said their finances are headed in the right direction. Over 60 percent of workers said those resources met their needs and encouraged them to improve their financial situation.

“We believe, with the right actions and insights, employers can help lower the financial risks that workers face. Access to the appropriate benefits and decision tools is a great start. These employer resources should include supportive social connections, such as coworkers and family, all of which can help employees keep and enjoy more of their money and, ultimately, improve wellbeing,” concluded Shane Bartling, senior director, Retirement, Willis Towers Watson.

Best Money Moves is a mobile-first financial wellness program with a wide range of tools to help employees measure financial stress and then dial it down. Our Stressometer measures stress in 14 categories and uses artificial intelligence to push relevant, contextualized and personalized information, tools, and solutions to users to solve the biggest pain points quickly.

We have a library of over 700 calculators, articles and videos, a budgeting tool that does the math, and tells workers what their neighbors are spending in the same category.

Best Money Moves is also gamified, it features a point-based rewards system where users earn points every time they log in, work with their budgets, read articles and measure their stress. Each point translates into a chance to win a monthly contest.

Financial Stress, Health and Employee Wellness in 2020

by LizStevens | Feb 25, 2020 | Blog

Financial stress, health and employee wellness in 2020. New research highlights the mental and physical effects of financial stress on employees.

Financial planning is the best way to combat financial stress, but many Americans are ignoring the problem and only making matters worse.

Less than a third of Americans have a financial plan in writing, according to research by Charles Schwab. More than 40 percent of them say it’s because they don’t think they have enough money to merit a formal plan, close to 20 percent say it’s too complicated and almost 15 percent say they don’t have enough time to create one.

Financial Stress and Health Statistics for 2020

Financial stress is significantly impacting the lives of Americans. A report by Thriving Wallet, a new partnership between Thrive Global and Discover, found:

90 percent of Americans say that money has an impact on their stress level.
65 percent feel like their financial difficulties are piling up so much they can’t overcome them.
40 percent wish they could have a ‘fresh’ financial start.
40 percent say managing their money on a daily basis limits the extent to which they can enjoy their day-to-day life.
25 percent make purchases they later regret when experiencing significant stress.

Financial stress has a negative effect on individuals’ attitudes towards money and research by Capital One and The Decision Lab found that the more stressed Americans are, the less likely they are to make smart decisions when it comes to spending and saving.

How Financial Stress Impacts Health

It’s bad enough that financial stress skews individuals’ outlooks on finances and impairs their decision making, but its ability to negatively impact immune systems and overall physical health is worse. The same report by Thriving Wallet asked Americans to report negative finance-related impacts on health and found that financial stress effects:

Physical Health (21 percent)
Blood Pressure (17 percent)
Respiratory Symptoms (15 percent)
Somatic Issues (20 percent)
Rates of Tension (25 percent)

Nearly 35 percent of Americans report losing sleep to financial stress, and almost 25 percent of them experience symptoms such as insomnia, broken sleep, fatigue on waking, nightmares and night terrors.

Financial Wellness Programs in 2020

Financial stress costs employers an estimated $250 billion per year in lost productivity and absenteeism.

Over 30 percent of employees don’t have a written financial plan because they think it’s too complicated or they don’t have enough time. Effective financial wellness programs, like Best Money Moves, make it easy for employees to build a financial plan and track their goals.

More than 20 percent of employees told the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC) that they don’t have anyone trusted to turn to for financial guidance. Features like Best Money Moves’ Money Coaches give employees access to trained professional financial counselors who can help them make smarter decisions with their money. Best Money Moves also hosts a library of 700 articles, videos and calculators that employees can use to build their knowledge on everything from investing to co-signing loans to buying their first homes.

If you want to learn more about how Best Money Moves can bring financial wellness to your company download our whitepapers and sign up for a demonstration here.