Financial Wellbeing

 

What do we mean by financial wellbeing?

This is a feeling of being financially secure and in control. It is being confident about your financial situation including paying bills, managing your home and supporting and providing for your family. Having more money would always be nice however financial wellbeing is more about being in control of the money you do have.

It is about: 

Monitoring income 
Minimising debt 
Generating and planning savings 
Investing in retirement 
Reducing unnecessary spending 
Making wise investments 
Understanding pensions

What issues can impact financial wellbeing?

debt 
stressful life events 
family
bereavement 

Financial worries can impact on other areas of our wellbeing including our mental and physical health. It is important to signpost the right support for your staff when they are experiencing financial stress. Money worries are the biggest cause of stress for UK employees with many members of staff taking sick days due to the impact on their mental health. It is important to recognise when staff may be experiencing external challenges, checking in on your staff regularly, will enable you to gain a deeper insight. 

Before trying to tackle financial wellbeing amongst your employees, consider the demographic of your workforce. Also, carry out an internal survey to find out and understand about any financial concerns and challenges. This feedback will guide you with implementation of training workshops and rewards and benefits. For suggested questions for your survey ask our dedicated Wellbeing Team to support you with a wellbeing survey. 

How to tackle financial wellbeing as a school:

  • Understand your employee needs in order to prioritise areas of financial wellbeing in the workplace.
  • Update Individual staff members with salary bands and ensure they understand their routes to progressing within the workplace.
  • Communicate with employees about the range of existing benefits - use posters, intranet and team meetings. 
  • NHS England has released a guide for employers giving an insight into the context, challenges and resources supporting financial wellbeing.
  • For staff looking for personal advice you can signpost them to The Money Advice Service to help find a financial adviser.
  • Help employees to understand their pension. Deliver bespoke workshops using expert advice and offer resources from Teachers Pensions.
  • Our Wellbeing Team at Kent-Teach can help you to create bespoke training workshops with appropriate experts. 
  • Signpost online budget planners and apps including Money Helper
  • Managing money can be difficult for those experiencing mental health challenges. Mental Health and Money Advice can support with money worries like getting into debt and overspending.
     

    This Mental Health and Money toolkit is a great place to start as an individual or to share with your employees. National Debtline a charity accessible to all offering advice on the current rising cost of living. 
 
Click here for further information, please complete the contact form and one of our helpful Wellbeing advisors will be in touch.