I cried.

90 days ago ...

I finished at Money Buddies where I had been Deputy CEO helping develop a one centre, local office in a deprived area of Leeds, into arguably the UK’s largest face-to-face Financial Wellbeing service.

When we started there was nothing like it in the UK

Council leaders, Senior politicians from opposing political parties and Think Tanks, including Iain Duncan -Smith’s Centre for Social Justice and our now Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves applauded the work we’d done in alleviating poverty and debt, empowering people with the knowledge and skill set to manage life’s financial ups and downs.

Our work reduced the return rate for advice and support by over 83% in its first year alone.

We’d been mentioned in Parliamentary debates, committees and been invited onto Martin Lewis’s show.

Leaving something that I’d been heavily invested in, built with a wonderful team and CEO was a wrench. 

My stomach churned, my heart wanted to burst through my chest. 

It still aches if I’m being honest.

You see, funding for smaller charities has been really tough, even the ones doing remarkable things.

So tough decisions were made for the wellbeing of the charity, which is in decent shape now, whilst many others still risk closure.

Millions are suffering in silence

Yet, there is so much to be done in financial wellness as millions of people constantly struggle with money worries;

-           Lack of it

-           Worry about paying their rent or mortgage

-           Stress of earning it in a volatile world where work security is at its lowest in a generation

Not enough to enjoy life

-          What if the boiler, the washing machine or car breaks down

-          Living constantly in an overdraft

-          Credit cards maxed out

- Even Fish and chips for a family of four has become a luxury, it's close to half a day's work ( National Living Wage)

Self-respect spirals downwards

-          Who, where and how to go for help

-          Planning for life’s ups and downs now and in the future

Then there’s their own psychological relationship with money.

Super-glued at the hip to their life story about who they are, limiting their self -belief and capabilities.

Questioning their purpose, value, self-esteem, personal relationships and decisions.

Worry knows no boundary

ALL these worries don’t stop at home.

They seep into all aspects of their life, including at work.

Usually playing out in increased:

- Absenteeism

- Presenteeism (physically at work but their mind is elsewhere, worrying)

- Pay advance requests

- Mental ill health, anxiety, stress and burnout

Posing risks to other employees and employers 

With …

- Lower productivity

- Increased retention issues, churning of staff and a regular cycle of inductions, new recruits, loss of expertise and experience

- Health and safety issues

- Pressure on managers and HR teams to manage performance

We're waking up

Employers have woken up to wellness at work, especially mental health wellness, yet financial wellness is low on the agenda if at all.

To put it bluntly, if you don’t have a meaningful financial wellness focus for your staff, then your business, operation and core values are more likely to be at serious risk.

-          People with Money worries and debt are x 3 more likely to suffer with Mental Ill Health compared to others (Money and Mental Health)

-          Only 13% of employees have (according to BUPA) have consistent positive thoughts. What about the other 87%?

For this reason, I’m not leaving the financial wellness space, I can't.

Being financially well improves our sense of wellbeing

Much MORE needs to be done to improve financial wellness in our world. 

We know financial wellness impacts mental wellness, which impacts the fundamental question we ask ourselves almost every day … 

Why is this question important?

Research shows the answer is an accurate predictor of mortality rates in the next EIGHT years.

If your staff are not high in satisfaction how can that be good for your organisation?

The Government through the King’s Speech want to foster employer involvement in building Britain.

 A good place to do that is with the wellness of your staff.

As Sir Richard Branson said;

#financialwellness #financialwellbeing #financialwellnessintheworkplace #workplacewellness