SHRM Survey Findings: Employee Financial Stress In collaboration with and commissioned by June 25, 2014

How do HR professionals rate the overall financial health of their employees? Roughly three-fifths (61%) of HR professionals consider their overall employees’ financial health to be no better than fair (50% fair, 10% poor and 1% very poor), and 38% describe it as “very good” or “good.” Organizations with greater proportions of hourly employees were more likely to indicate that their employees’ overall financial health was "fair," whereas organizations with fewer hourly workers reported better financial health among staff. What age group is most likely to experience financial stress? Fifty percent of HR professionals indicate that people in the age range experience the most financial stress. Twenty-nine percent of HR professionals reported employees between 35 and 44 years as the age group to experience the most financial stress. How financially literate are employees? The majority (70%) of HR professionals report employees as being “somewhat financially literate.” Thirteen percent describe their employees as “very financially literate,” but 17% are considered to be “not at all financially literate.” Organizations with a smaller proportion of hourly employees were more likely have employees rated as “very financially literate,” whereas organizations with a greater proportion of hourly employees were more likely to have employees rated as “not at all financially literate.” SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Key Findings

What financial benefits do organizations offer their employees? Nineteen percent of organizations offer employees loan products from a third-party provider, and 18% of organizations offer payroll advances. What impact do financial benefits have on employees’ overall ability to manage their financial difficulties? Nearly three-quarters of HR professionals indicated that offering third-party provider loan products has a positive impact on employees’ overall ability to manage their financial difficulties, and slightly over one-half of HR professionals reported pay advances having a positive impact. What types of services are organizations offering to help employees manage their finances? The most common financial services that organizations offer employees are retirement planning and consultation (81%) and financial literacy training for investing (42%). Less prevalent financial services include financial literacy training for basic budgeting (25%) and credit score monitoring (8%). SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Key Findings (continued)

Employees’ struggling to gain control of their finances may have significant ramifications in the workplace. A combined 61% of HR professionals describe the overall financial situation of their employees as no better than fair (50% fair, 10% poor and 1% very poor), signaling that financial issues could be a growing challenge for employees in many workplaces. Anxiety related to finances could be a growing source of employee stress that has a direct impact on health care costs, absence and productivity. Thus money management strategies, including budgeting and investing, may increasingly be considered as a part of workplace stress management and wellness initiatives. Undoubtedly, one major area of discussion for organizations will involve employees’ compensation. Though wages have not grown significantly in recent years, high levels of financial stress could eventually give way to greater wage pressure, especially for jobs that are difficult to fill. In addition, increased financial stress among the rank and file could influence the debate on executive compensation. Organizations may want to reevaluate their benefits program to fit the needs of their staff. HR professionals report that a portion of Millennials are the employees most likely to experience financial stress in their organizations. Demographic differences in the financial challenges of employees could potentially be a source of intergenerational tension or conflict and could affect how financial benefits are tailored to different age groups within the workplace. SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM What do these findings mean for the HR profession?

SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM The State of Employee Financial Stress

Overall Employee Financial Health SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = 383. Respondents who answered “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding. Organizations with greater proportions of hourly employees were more likely to indicate that their employees’ overall financial health was “fair.” Organizations with fewer hourly workers were more likely to rate their employees’ financial health as “good.”

Employee Financial Health Rating: Fair and Good Ratings (by percentage of hourly employees) SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: Respondents who answered “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis.

Most Financially Stressed by Age SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = 409. Respondents who answered “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis. Percentage do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.

Overall Employee Financial Literacy SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = 391. Respondents who answered “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis.

Employee Financial Literacy (by percentage of hourly employees) SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = 378 Respondents who answered “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.

SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Financial Stress in the Workplace

Financial Stress and Employee Absenteeism SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = Only respondents who answered “strongly agree” and “agree” are shown. Respondents who answered “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis. Only statistically significant differences are shown. 59% HR professionals agree that employees at their organization have missed work due to transportation issues in the last year. 37% HR professionals agree that employees at their organization have missed work due to a financial emergency in the last year. Larger organizations are more likely than smaller organizations to agree that their employees have missed work due to a financial emergency in the past 12 months. 500 to 2,499 employees (40%) 1 to 99 employees (17%)

Employee Termination Due to Employee Financial Issues SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = 189. Respondents who answered “”I’m not sure, but I don’t think so,” “I’m not sure, but I believe yes” or “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis.

Employees Seeking Assistance from Their Employer SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = Only respondents who answered “strongly agree” and “agree” are shown. Respondents who answered “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis. Only statistically significant differences are shown. 47% HR professionals agree that employees have approached a manager or supervisor for personal financial advice in the last year. 53% HR professionals agree that employees have approached a representative of the organization asking for a pay advance in the last year. Larger organizations are more likely than smaller organizations to agree that their employees have approached a representative asking for a pay advance in the past 12 months. 500 to 2,499 employees (63%) 1 to 99 employees (25%) 100 to 499 employees (34%)

Organizations Providing Annual Cost-of-Living Raises to Employees to Keep Up with Inflation SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = 416. Respondents who answered “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis.

SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Financial Benefits: Pay Advances and Third-Party Provider Loan Products

Does your organization offer the following financial benefits? SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: Respondents who answered “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis. Only respondents who answered “yes” are shown. An asterisk (*) indicates that these data were taken from the SHRM 2014 Employee Benefits Report.

What impact does offering financial benefits have on the overall ability of employees at your organization to manage their financial difficulties? SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: Only respondents whose organization offers loan product(s) from a third-party provider and/or pay advances as employee benefits were asked this question. Respondents who answered “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis.

SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Employee Financial Literacy and Employer-Sponsored Financial Services

Does your organization currently offer the following services to its employees? SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = Respondents who answered “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.

Does your organization currently offer the following services to its employees? SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown. Comparisons by organization sector Publicly owned for-profit (39%)>Privately owned for-profit (17%) Comparisons by organization sector Publicly owned for-profit organizations are more likely than privately owned for-profit organizations to offer their employees financial literacy training for basic budgeting.

Does your organization currently offer the following services to its employees? SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown. Comparisons by organization staff size 500 to 2,499 employees (32%)>1 to 99 employees (14%) Comparisons by organization staff size Organizations with 500 to 2,499 employees are more likely than organizations with 1 to 99 employees to offer their employees financial literacy training for basic budgeting. Comparisons by organization staff size 2,500 to 24,999 employees (41%)> 1 to 99 employees (14%) 100 to 499 employees (15%) Organizations with 2,500 to 24,999 employees are more likely than organizations with 1 to 499 employees to offer their employees financial literacy training for basic budgeting.

Does your organization currently offer the following services to its employees? SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown. Comparisons by organization staff size 500 to 2,499 employees (54%)>100 to 499 employees (32%) Comparisons by organization staff size Organizations with 500 to 2,499 employees are more likely than organizations with 100 to 499 employees to offer their employees financial literacy training for investing.

SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Demographics

Approximately what percentage of your organization’s employees are paid hourly? SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = 395. Respondents who answered “don’t know” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.

Demographics: Organization Industry SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = 396. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options. Percentage Manufacturing25% Professional, scientific and technical services20% Health care and social assistance11% Finance and insurance9% Educational services9% Government agencies6% Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services5% Retail trade5% Transportation and warehousing5% Information5% Accommodation and food services4%

Demographics: Organization Industry (continued) SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = 396. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options. Percentage Construction4% Repair and maintenance3% Utilities3% Wholesale trade3% Real estate and rental and leasing3% Religious, grant-making, civic, professional and similar organizations3% Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction3% Arts, entertainment, and recreation2% Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting2% Personal and laundry services1% Other industry4%

Demographics: Organization Sector SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = 391. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.

Demographics: Organization Staff Size SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM Note: n = 388. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.

n = 408 Demographics: Other SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM U.S.-based operations only72% Multinational operations28% Single-unit organization: An organization in which the location and the organization are one and the same. 27% Multi-unit organization: An organization that has more than one location. 73% Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices. 58% Each work location determines HR policies and practices. 4% A combination of both the work location and the multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices. 38% Is your organization a single-unit organization or a multi-unit organization? For multi-unit organizations, are HR policies and practices determined by the multi-unit headquarters, by each work location or by both? Does your organization have U.S.-based operations (business units) only, or does it operate multinationally? n = 406 n = 308 Corporate (companywide)69% Business unit/division16% Facility/location15% n = 309 What is the HR department/function for which you responded throughout this survey?

31 SHRM Survey Findings: Employee Financial Stress Response rate = 14% 419 HR professionals from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s membership participated in this survey Margin of error +/-5% Survey fielded May 9-June 2, 2014 In collaboration with and commissioned by Survey Methodology SHRM/Elevate: Employee Financial Stress ©SHRM 2014

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