The financial stress brought on by employee financial illness is a contributing factor to workplace safety issues, due in part to reduced cognitive performance and sleep disturbances. The risks associated with financial stress and sleepiness are dangerous and costly to employees and employers alike. Read on to learn why and how investing in improving employee financial health can positively impact workplace safety, support your employees, and even lead to lower healthcare costs.
The connection between financial illness, sleep, and workplace safety
Sleep deprivation increases the likelihood of a workplace accident by 70%, with the effects of fatigue often compared to the effects of alcohol, resulting in impaired judgment and poor performance.
In healthcare, sleep deprivation is considered a latent hazard and creates “an unsafe condition” that leads to increased medical error rates. A separate study focused on transport estimated that truck driver fatigue is a contributing factor in 30 – 40% of all heavy truck accidents.
Impaired motor skills, poor decision making, risk taking, poor memory and information processing, and falling asleep on the job were officially identified as major dangers associated with tired workers by the American Safety Council.
Finances are the main cause of stress for most workers
With 73% of Americans ranking finances as their top stressor, financial worries impact employees’ concentration and focus during work hours and interfere with sleep, further degrading health and resilience. People with financial anxiety are the worst sleepers. “The average functional level of any sleep-deprived individual is comparable to the 9th percentile of non-sleep deprived individuals,” according to Circadian.
However, when financial stress is reduced, people get better quality sleep, and when rested, are better able to handle all types of stress, creating a virtuous cycle.
Remediating foundational causes of stress and sleep loss is critical to improving productivity, safety, and customer satisfaction.
How Financial Care can reduce financial stress and sleep deprivation
Fortune 500 employers see how lowering stress can create more engaged and productive employees when they offer Brightside Financial Care.
To alleviate frontline employees’ financial stress, the root causes of their financial stress have to be addressed with personalized support and real solutions. Financially vulnerable employees cannot be served by one-size-fits all financial wellness strategies.
Financially ill employees need to be paired with an empathetic person who can understand their problems without judgment, connect employees with real solutions that support their financial needs, and help them build the hope they need to take action and small steps that eventually add up and make their financial situations better.
That’s the approach Brightside Financial Assistants take, and why our Financial Care model improves employee financial health and reduces associated financial stress quickly. We see the results reflected in the words of our Brightside users. (All names have been changed to protect privacy).
“I was so stressed about my finances. My Financial Assistant didn’t judge me and made me feel at ease.”-Melinda, a Brightside user
“My Financial Assistant is knowledgeable, non-judgmental, empathetic, and resourceful. She’s had a big impact on my overall happiness.” -Angie, a Brightside user
“I’m grateful for this benefit and to my employer for providing it.” -Aubree, a Brightside user
To learn more about Brightside Financial Care or to schedule a demo, click here.
When Sadie came to Brightside, she told her Financial Assistant “I’m just so tired”, which is a familiar story to us when employees come to Brightside. Sadie worked in a distribution center and couldn’t afford to fix her car, which she needed to get to work. Life circumstances had left her with a maze of debts and she was overwhelmed. Her Financial Assistant helped Sadie get a low-cost loan paid out of her payroll to fix her car and pay off her high-interest debt. In parallel, her Financial Assistant helped her create a budget and a debt paydown plan. Sadie is now able to get to work without stress and told her Financial Assistant “I couldn’t have done it without you. You helped me every step of the way.”
Brightside’s mission is to improve the financial health of working families. By improving the financial health of your employees, we are able to improve business outcomes, so it’s a win-win for your organization and your employees.
