Your employees are there every day, supporting your dreams to build and maintain a successful business, primarily for your personal financial gain. It is up to you to also support your employees and their finances as well. With the recent surge in the importance of company culture, taking care of your employees is more important than ever. Financial stress is generally taboo to talk about in a corporate setting, but it is hard to ignore the rising cost of healthcare and education. Just because a topic isn’t talked about does not mean it is not real and it’s also directly affecting your business’s finances. Presenteeism can cause your employees to be less productive and is estimated to cost American businesses about $500 billion a year.
What is presenteeism? Your employee is on the job and is disconnected due to illness or other personal stressors. It is just as costly as absenteeism but less apparent. The presenteeism issue is focused on employees who deal with chronic illness or mental illness, which does not show any physical signs and excludes those who generally waste company time by goofing off or pretending to be ill. Transparency is key when it comes to working with employees who suffer from chronic illness. Instead of your employees feeling forced to come into work during a flair up or call off too many times and risk their job, offer remote work options. Employees will be more secure with their jobs and ultimately more productive when their job is protected even when they are sick.
To come full circle with the issue of presenteeism, offering healthcare to your staff can also alleviate a financial burden from them and give you access to the largest tax break for employers. Most employers are required to pay half the premium, which also doubles as a business expense and can be written off during tax time. When your employees are looking for health insurance options on their own, it is paid for with post-tax dollars. On the other side, if they are buying into a company-sponsored plan, it is paid for with pre-tax dollars, which ends up saving them 30-45% on insurance premiums. According to the CDC, employees who prioritize preventative care get more accomplished during the workday.
The scariest thing for any employee is saving for retirement. Thinking about the future, especially if nothing is saved, would cause any employee to panic. As your employee’s age increases, their concern with their savings will increase. Offering a 401(k) option will make them more secure in their job and more secure with their future. Watching their wealth grow over time will make them more confident and take one more concern off their plate. Even though 401(k) plans are designed to save for retirement, many people use it to support them in true financial hardships. Whether the company can match contributions or not, having that option for your employees will help settle any financial woes your employees may have.
You can support your employee’s financial goals without breaking the bank. Your employees support your financial dreams, you should be supporting them as well.