Wellbeing in the workplace is an executive concern. Most employers have begun to set up financial well-being benefits and initiatives, such as educational tools aimed at helping employees learn how to manage their finances and savings better. Yet, with the ongoing cost of living putting a huge toll on employees’ mental health, financial wellbeing needs to remain a priority for employees, GLORIA NWAFOR reports.
The global cost-of-living crisis has emerged as a catalyst for employees to become more aware of their financial situations, and the need to design campaigns on how the initiatives could support their mental health.
The significant connection between mental health and financial well-being is well-known, with financial stress such as debt, unpredictable pay and working hours, and managing unexpected bills contributing to an array of mental health conditions.
Employee thriving has implications for workplaces and business performance, as employers who develop a culture of well-being are likely to see benefits across organisational outcomes.
Findings from Financial Wellbeing Research 2024, Reward and Employee Benefit Association’s (REBA), published with WEALTH at work, highlighted that 70 per cent of employers said the mental wellbeing of the workforce was driving change in their financial wellbeing offerings, the highest of all internal drivers.
In addition, 62 per cent view a lack of financial literacy as a risk to the workforce, while 28 per cent highlighted not having access to appropriate workforce financial well-being support as a risk.
The Guardian gathered that given the mental impact financial stress could have on an individual, there is no surprise it remains high on employers’ agendas.
This is just as there will always be a conversation about how much an employer should become involved in an individual’s private life, whereby for financial well-being, the negative consequences are too hard to ignore.
For instance, there is a growing number of employees who will be unable to afford to retire due to inadequate pension savings. These employees, The Guardian gathered, could have several health conditions, meaning they can no longer do their job to the standard expected — not only damaging the employee’s well-being but also leading to workforce planning issues and a loss in productivity to the employer.
While the report states that employers do not possess the magic key to bring down inflation, improve the cost of living, or slow down the housing market, they can provide fair pay, offer relevant benefits and initiatives to maintain employees’ well-being and productivity and boost their financial literacy.
This is also as Gallup’s statistics on the global workplace in 2023 ranked Nigeria as the seventh sub-Saharan country with the most stressed employees. The move has urged employees to protect their mental health, revealing that the country is experiencing a high rate of depression and anxiety, especially in workplaces.
However, experts have emphasised that organisations have critical roles to play in normalising mental health care and promoting open and supportive environments.
Chief Operating Officer of Intense Group, Bukonla Adebakin, at a forum, encouraged companies to implement policies that promote staff well-being. She stressed that the mental health of employees directly impacts organisational productivity, engagement, and overall well-being. She urged organisations to create supportive, stigma-free environments and lead strategic conversations on mental health with employees.
According to her, “People struggle and grapple with working in toxic environments, which reduces their productivity. When you are not productive at work, or when your mind is not in the right place, then something needs to be done.”
She pointed out that there was a need to create a system where conversations around mental health in the workplace were prioritised and equipping the workforce with better financial education.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BlackMoh Consulting, Mohammed Ahmed, stressed that to thrive under pressure in the workplace, employees must build resilience and cultivate daily habits that will promote it in the long run.He said: “To succeed in our workplace, we must ensure to set boundaries, learn how to cope positively, and also bounce back from every challenge we face.
“We must also ensure to adequately build our level of self-efficacy, have a positive mindset towards our job, and possess the willpower to deliver effectively.”
In the public sector, as states begin the implementation of the N70,000 new national minimum wage, stakeholders have said that the need for governments to prioritise the welfare of workers amid rising inflation that has eroded their purchasing capacity was crucial.
Already, labour has emphasised the importance of putting people first, stressing that governance must prioritise the well-being of citizens through fair wages, safe working conditions, and social protection.
According to Labour, the correlation between workers’ welfare and national productivity is undeniable. Highlighting the importance of the workforce, they urged the government to recognise that improving workers’ conditions was not charity but a necessity for national productivity and growth.
National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Shehu Muhammed urged that state governments yet to begin implementing the new wage should do so to improve the standard of living of their citizens since the incomes of state governments have continued to rise following enhanced allocation from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
Muhammed urged that states could achieve this by reducing wastages and blocking leakages of government funds, even as he also advised that the government should embrace the policy of indexing income to correspond with the rate of inflation. Currently, Nigeria is grappling with a high inflation rate of 33.9 per cent, with food inflation nearing 40 per cent.
As a result, Nigerian workers remain among the lowest earners globally, with their purchasing power severely eroded by rising prices. The high inflation rate has forced many Nigerians to allocate the bulk of their modest salaries to necessities such as food and utilities, leaving little to no room for discretionary spending on luxuries or leisure activities.
The move, The Guardian gathered, is severely affecting the mental health of most employees. The Guardian also gathered that the situation demonstrates the harsh economic realities faced by the average Nigerian worker, despite the government’s efforts to alleviate their financial burdens through wage adjustments.
Head of Media, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Benson Upah, while highlighting the importance of a reasonable minimum wage, stressed its role in protecting workers’ welfare, particularly in the face of rising inflation and economic challenges. He noted that with the sharp increase in living costs, there was a need for workers’ welfare to be prioritised.
An economist, Vincent Chin, emphasised that economic resilience is built on societal well-being, urging government leaders to look beyond economic development and prioritise the overall well-being of citizens.
He stressed that nations that invest across a range of development dimensions such as education, health, infrastructure, and governance have been better able to cushion the socioeconomic challenges facing them.
He analysed that countries with improved abilities to convert wealth into well-being, as well as those with high overall well-being, tended to mitigate drops in economic performance and limit the growth of unemployment rates, while countries with lower levels have fallen further behind, particularly in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and employment.
According to him, countries better at converting wealth into well-being were able to recover more quickly from the 2008–2009 financial crisis. He said: “Countries need to take a more comprehensive and sustainable approach that incorporates and optimises societal well-being. Analyses have shown that some lower-income countries are better off than high-income countries because they look beyond economic metrics and invest in well-being more broadly.”
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