Through our Financial Education in the Workplace survey of Canadian employees, we learned that 25% are financially distressed and an additional 41% are stressed when it comes to their finances.
Through research we know that financially distressed employees spend an average of 13% of their day at work dealing with their finances and the others who are less stressed spend on average 4% of their day at work but not working (presenteeism).
This alone adds up to lost productivity of Canadian workers totaling more than $51 BILLION!
| Working Population | 17,500,000 | |
| Average Income | $47,868 | |
| Employee Cost | $11,967 | |
| Financially Distressed (25%) | 4,375,000 | 13% |
| Financially Stressed (41%) | 7,175,000 | 4% |
| Lost Productivity cost | $51,203,801,250 |
Although this may be an over simplification of the calculation a deeper in-depth analysis will only lead to an even larger value. Financial stress doesn’t only impact employees’ productivity; it also impacts their overall wellness. More than 60% of employees cite personal finances as their number one stress.
Financial stress impacts mental health: Those with high debt stress are six times more likely to suffer from depression and seven times more likely to suffer from high anxiety. Their physical health is impacted as well: employees are twice as likely to suffer a heart attack, three and half times more likely to suffer from ulcers and digestive track problems, and three times as likely to suffer from migraines or headaches.
Financial illiteracy is becoming a pandemic in this country and it is time for Canadian businesses to recognize the impact it is having on their bottom line.
Take a few minutes to learn more about how financial education can increase productivity and profitability in your organization by downloading the whitepaper: http://info.employeefinancialeducation.ca/Employee-Financial-Literacy-White-Paper
