30 | WELLBEING
Struggling with debt, struggling to focus: workplace conversations that can make a difference
E mployees across the UK are under sustained financial pressure. StepChange found that arrears on mortgages, rent, utilities and council tax all increased last year, while the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA's) Financial Lives Survey (https://ow.ly/UnzB50YINHQ) revealed that 34% of UK adults have less than £1,000 in savings, leaving them with little buffer against the unexpected. The cost of living remains persistently high, and for many people, there are few signs of things improving any time soon. That means it’s likely that every organisation in the country has team members who are struggling with debt in some way. And they bring that stress to work. It makes it harder to concentrate, to engage, to bring their best self to the job. For pay professionals, the signs are often visible in the queries they receive – pay advances, overtime, deductions, attachment of earnings orders, opting out of benefits. These are signals of an employee trying to keep their head above water.
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