Year after year, employees in numerous organisations are flabbergasted when it comes to declaring their investments and filing their taxes. Some employees don’t even understand what TDS is or what the use of ESOPs is. Unfortunately for them, their organisations seem oblivious to this fact as well, expecting their employees to know how to deal with their finances already. With more and more people falling into debt and not being able to save enough for a financially secure future, financial literacy at the workplace has become crucial for the smooth running of successful organisations.

Not having the right financial know-how or knowledge can lead to a host of issues in an employee’s life. The anxiety, depression, and stress arising out of inadequate financial security can adversely affect an individual’s performance and productivity at the workplace.

If you were to take a look at highly productive offices all around the world, you’ll realise that almost all of them make financial literacy and financial wellness a priority for all their employees. Research has shown that running financial literacy programs vastly boosts employee morale, leads to better mental health, and improves their overall life. By strengthening the basic financial knowledge of their employees, organisations can help them stay free of debt, make better retirement savings, and subsequently, have peace of mind, allowing them to be more productive.

• Positive Effects On Well-being – Learning about finance at the workspace is one of the best ways to help employees improve their financial literacy. Why? Because that’s where their money comes from. The office is a direct connection to their wealth and their money. When it comes to making better financial decisions, be it investing or accumulating wealth, or working towards their retirement goals. While financial wellness isn’t the only factor that affects employee productivity, it can enable employees to create a clearer path towards meeting their own financial goals and be prepared for emergencies. Increased knowledge about money and finance can lead to a stronger and motivated workforce.
• Transformed Company Culture – With startups springing up all over the place, there is a lot of hype about company culture. The fact of the matter is, numerous companies all over the world are recognising the positive effects of having a solid company culture. The easiest way to constantly improve your business culture is to have regular financial wellness programs for employees. If you can provide quality financial education to your employees, you can empower your staff to manage their paycheck well and be encouraged to utilise your company’s retirement plans. By being the source of not just their income but also their financial knowledge, you can let your employees know that you truly care about them, as a result of which your company culture is also elevated.
• Improved Work-Life Balance – Workplace financial education not only helps the employees as individuals but also the company as a whole. It is common knowledge that employees who are burdened by their money situation or are financially distressed are more likely to skip work, show little or no commitment towards the organisation and are seldom satisfied with their salaries, irrespective of how much money they make.

Employers are making workplace financial literacy programs a big part of their employee training modules; more than 40% of successful companies are already running financial wellness programs or are planning to implement one in the near future. Financial literacy has been recognized as a key motivator when it comes to a more productive and satisfying work environment.

If you aren’t running any financial literacy or financial wellness programs in your organisation, now is a good time to start one. Take assistance from a certified financial planner or wealth management firm with a good track record of corporate services to help you build and implement a successful financial literacy & wellness program for your company.