Financial worry in the workplace costs American businesses an astounding $300 billion a year. Human Resource Departments report that 49% of their time is devoted to employees who are “stressed by an overall lack of income to cover their essential needs.” Studies indicate that “three-quarters of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck with hefty debt responsibilities and little to no savings.”
American companies tend to either overlook or minimize the importance of providing financial wellness help through their employee assistance programs even though the research shows that about 80% of employees use company time to deal with their personal financial problems. The impact this has on a worker’s productivity is estimated to be between 12 to 20 unproductive hours a month. On average, these wasted hours cost employers approximately $7,000 a year!
Individual financial stress can negatively impact the entire organization. Money problems can alter an employee’s work attitude with increased signs of anger, irritability, lack-of-patience, unreasonable expectations, failures in communication, fatigue and even sleeping on the job. Above average performers fall to below average and average performers put themselves at even greater financial risk (and worry) by jeopardizing their own job positions. Overall firm morale drops, as do the positive working environments that the owners and managers worked so hard to create.
Keeping good employees is a major part of any successful company’s competitive edge. Benefits that can maximize employee retention are becoming more paramount in Employee Assistance Programs. “Because financial stress can take such a toll on employee health and productivity, many corporations are looking to boost financial wellness benefits and provide employees and families with tools and resources to improve personal finances and to feel more financially secure.” Companies recognize that healthy, engaged and productive workforces are the ultimate keys to corporate innovation, growth and success.
Jen Lee Law’s Employees Are Assets Program provides tailored legal solutions to your organization’s financially troubled employees. Your success is important to you and to us. Let us help.
Quotes and data from Financial Stress: A Workplace Epidemic, benefits magazine, August 2014, Dr. Ann D. Clark
EMPLOYEES ARE ASSETS PROGRAM
The Program’s objective is to provide the financially stressed employee with a tailored made plan that contains both practical and legal strategies. The Program is not a financial training course, financial investment planning exercise or a financial coaching plan. Using private and confidential strategy sessions, the Program is an individualized financial and legal recommendations program that deals with the employee’s real-time problems by providing practical real-time recommendations and solutions. The Program focuses not only on the solutions, but also on the sense of urgency that the solutions (and the employee) require and desire.
Based upon discussions, your company’s desired objectives are memorialized and become part of the agreement between our two organizations. Desired objectives include increased individual and work force morale, increased production, minimization of production errors, minimization of employee turnover, tardiness, and absenteeism, reduced health care costs, fewer workplace injuries, and an instillation of employee loyalty and commitment.
At the end of each calendar quarter you will receive a Program progress report that quantifies:
- The number of employees that have used EAA’s services
- Percentage of employees who have scheduled sessions
- Percentage of employee who kept debt strategy sessions
- Percentage of employee who opted for additional help
- Percentage of employees who used other EAA resources
- Anonymous comments obtained from employee surveys
How EAA Works from an Employee Standpoint
One of the biggest issues that legal and financial programs in the workplace face is that the employer does not want to be involved in these issues. By offering the EAA program to all employees, the employer then gets to step back and let the legal work happen. Here is the process for employees:
- The employee schedules the Strategy Session online and is asked to complete a secure online informational questionnaire so that the attorney can get an idea of the issues that the employee is facing.
- The Strategy Session takes place, either via Skype or an in-person meeting at Jen Lee Law’s office. The important part here is that the other employees and the employer have no indication who is requesting assistance and there is no embarrassment on behalf of the employee who has a Strategy Session.
- During the Strategy Session, a thorough discussion of the employee’s individual situation, long-term goals, options, timelines, and potential costs takes place. The employee comes out of the session knowing his or her legal rights and options available, including a written summary.
- After the Strategy Session, it is up to the employee to decide whether to act on the recommendations or not.
- If the employee needs additional assistance, he or she receives a discount of 25% on legal work with Jen Lee Law as a benefit of the EAA program.
The Employees Are Assets Program is designed to be a genuine contributor to your company’s core values. Let us help you help your employees ramp-up both your company’s financial successes and your employee’s financial freedom and peace of mind.
