Recent research by the Close Brothers Asset Management Business Barometer has found that staff wellbeing is low on UK employers’ agendas.

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Close Brothers Asset Management, also known as CBAM, has just released the findings of a survey of 900 UK employers. The survey results have proved rather startling. The results suggest that nearly half of UK employers do not have any sort of Staff Wellbeing Strategy implemented into their business practice framework. In fact only just over a third actually had one in place, with nearly 1 in 5 claiming that one was currently being constructed.

Survey Results

Even more startlingly, of those that do have such strategies in place, staff members’ financial wellbeing is, on the whole, overlooked. Only 23% of respondents with a wellbeing strategy in place have actually considered addressing financial wellbeing.

Those applying for jobs are advised to enquire whether employers have a wellbeing strategy in place, as those that do are far more desirable to work for. Whether you are going for jobs through a London recruitment firm or a Cheltenham recruitment agency such as http://www.buzzrecruit.com/, ask your consultant what sort of strategy any potential employers’ have in place. The benefits of a wellbeing strategy have long been encouraged by experts.

Financial Wellbeing

Within the companies that do include financial wellbeing as part of their programme, there are a range of methods for addressing the issues. Nearly 50% address such issues through their financial education programme, whilst 22% provide a financial advisor for staff and 29% actually offer a debt counselling service. All of these responses centre around the problem of debt, when financial wellbeing is about more than getting out of debt. It’s also about employees knowing how to navigate the benefits schemes of employers and how to make the best decisions regarding them.

The survey also found that the likelihood of a firm having a staff wellbeing strategy is often down to the industry they operate in, with manufacturing companies coming out on top.
With the introduction of mandatory contribution pensions, the increased number of years that staff need to work for, and the increased responsibility on the individual to provide for their own futures, mean it’s more important than ever that staff are armed with enough information to make the right decisions.