Taking the worry out of money
The Mercer's Inside Employees' Minds survey in the US found that personal financial issues impact professional performance. "On average, employees spend 13 hours per month worrying about money matters at work, so personal financial wellness is becoming an important factor both for individuals and their employers," says Trevor Booth of Mercer Financial Services.
According to Booth, personal financial wellness can be generally defined as having control over day-to-day finances; having the capacity to absorb financial shocks like illness; being on track to meet financial goals; and having the financial freedom to make choices leading to enjoyment of life.
The survey also suggested that a person’s perception of their financial literacy – or financial courage – is more important than their actual financial literacy when it comes to improving a person’s financial wellness
“The higher their financial courage, the more likely they are to seek help and therefore improve their situation – creating a virtuous circle of self-help,” Booth elaborates. “Some employers are going beyond the traditional supports like pension and life assurance, offering tools like budgeting assistance and financial coaching to employees in the workplace to help improve their employees’ financial wellness.”
Putting the feelgood factor into investments
A new statue appeared opposite Wall Street’s iconic bull in March this year. This bronze sculpture of a young girl quickly became known as the “Fearless Girl” and was put there by State Street Global Advisors to coincide with International Women’s Day and to highlight the continuing paucity of women on corporate boards throughout the world.
"The plan is to keep it there until next March," says Ann Prendergast, managing director of State Street Global Advisors Ireland. "Reaction to it has been phenomenal and it has helped highlight the need for greater female participation on boards."
This is part of State Street’s overall ESG (environment, social and governance) investment policy. Formerly known as ethical or responsible investment, ESG takes into account a company’s performance against a range of environmental, social and corporate governance indicators.
“We are getting more and more traction on this from investors,” Prendergast adds. “People are becoming more and more interested in how their money is invested. At State Street Global Advisers, we have strong views on ESG investing and this is reflected in our corporate policies and how we invest.”
She explains the State Street invests in indexes and that this does not allow them to not invest in particular stocks but it doesn’t prevent them from taking an active role in the ESG space.
“As an index manager we have to be invested in all stocks in an index but this doesn’t mean we have to be passive investors,” she says. “One of the initiatives we have taken this year is in relation to increased diversity on boards. We have written to companies we are invested in calling for them to improve board diversity and informing them that we will vote against resolutions at agms if the situation doesn’t improve.”
Workplace wellbeing
Wellbeing extends far beyond finances and last March 31st saw employers across Ireland take part in National Workplace Wellbeing Day. The event aims to improve employee wellbeing through promoting better exercise and nutrition in the workplace. Research carried out on behalf of Ibec shows that only a quarter of workers in Ireland (26 per cent) take the recommended level of exercise for a healthy lifestyle each week.
The survey of almost 1,000 employees found that seven in 10 employees are more likely to stay longer with employers who show an interest in their health and wellbeing, while half would consider leaving employers who don’t.
Three-quarters of those surveyed say employers should encourage their staff to be healthier. Four out of five employees point to a positive link between their health and wellbeing and their company’s productivity. More than a third of employees (35 per cent) surveyed said that a company’s workplace wellbeing programme is important when they are choosing a new employer.
Mindfulness in the workplace
With Harvard Business School including it in its leadership development programmes, mindfulness has is now firmly entrenched on corporate agendas. Companies like Google have long encouraged its practice among employees while Vodafone Ireland has its own dedicated workplace wellness centre where employees can go for meditation and mindfulness sessions.
Mindfulness has its roots in Buddhism and, at is most basic, means awareness. It’s about living in and paying attention to the moment in a non-judgemental way. Practitioners say it can help to reduce stress and anxiety, increase resilience, and boosts emotional intelligence. It is also said to improve workplace communication and reduce conflicts.
And these claims are backed up by solid scientific research. In a 2015 article, Mindfulness can literally change your brain, Harvard Business Review cited a study carried out by scientists from the University of British Columbia and the Chemnitz University of Technology which showed some quite startling results.
“Neuroscientists have shown that practising mindfulness affects brain areas related to perception, body awareness, pain tolerance, emotion regulation, introspection, complex thinking, and sense of self. The converging evidence is compelling and mindfulness should no longer be considered a ‘nice-to-have’ for executives. It’s a ‘must-have’: a way to keep our brains healthy, to support self-regulation and effective decision-making capabilities, and to protect ourselves from toxic stress,” the article stated.