A lot has been said and written about how to improve the productivity in the workplace; so I will not classify this article as a ‘how to’ of improving workplace productivity rather, my intention for writing this article is to provoke the performance management thinkers into revisiting the existing generally accepted performance measures that has been around for long.

Just think about what a motivated workforce that does not have much financial worries at home will achieve. Am sure you will agree with me that a lot will be achieved if the financial worries of our staff are limited.

Financial distractions at work

According to PWC’s 2017employee financial wellness survey, 1-in-3 employees admit they are distracted at work due to financial issues, 46% spends over 3 hours a week thinking about or dealing with financial issues, 35% cites health issues caused by stress over their personal financial situation, while 16% miss work on accounts of dealing with personal financial matters.

While employers need to keep company finances in check, they also need to worry about the financial wellbeing of their human assets.

“The impact of employees’ financial stress on productivity level is real and it’s costing companies huge amount of money. Human Resource departments need to evaluate the potential reduction in healthcare costs and increased productivity wellness through the application of a financial wellness program.”

4 ways to improve the financial wellness of employees

The contents of this section has nothing to do with the normal financial entitlements that an employee gets for rendering service to his or her employer

• Financial intelligence training: it is better to show a man how to fish than to always provide fish for a man. Financial intelligence is one of the best gifts that can be given to any individual. To increase productivity, it will not be a bad idea to organize financial intelligence training for your workforce from time to time. You can contract the service of an investment accountant for this.
• Six sigma training: Six Sigma is a management philosophy that I have applied to many facets of my personal life and I can assure you that the result has been and will continue to be tremendous. The application of simple technique like 5S helped simply processes in my house, which in turn has been saving over $1,150.00 per month in my household for the past 8 months.
• Setting up financial aid scheme: there are times when people will need a little bit of financial help regardless of their income. Part of the little things that keeps workforce motivated is finding a shoulder to lean on in time of need at the work place.
• Linking staff up with social welfare aids: some staff members of an organization are often not aware of numerous benefits out there. Companies that care for her workforce goes out of their way to have dedicated staff that does the research on behalf of the needy in their midst.

Financial wellness for optimal work place productivity has for long been taken lightly but the reality of the current global economy has made it clear that businesses will struggle to survive if the individual staff members are not financially stable in the house.

I will continue to share my thoughts and free insights on strategies to help shape businesses so feel free to leave a comment in the right section of this piece.