Aftershocks of ‘financial and mental trauma’ are coming

Aftershocks of ‘financial and mental trauma’ are coming 

Immediate action is needed by employers to overcome the stigma around discussing financial problems according to a Financial Wellbeing Guide produced by Alliance Manchester Business School. 

Months of furlough pay, pay cuts and the arrival of a recession in the UK economy mean widespread threats of financial anxiety. The Guide points to how financial concerns were already a primary cause of stress before the pandemic period. Now the threat of poverty has become a reality for many more people, particularly among women, young people, Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and people with a disability.

Report author Professor Cary Cooper said: “Financial security is now, more than ever before, a crucial part of employee wellbeing. The impact the pandemic is having on the mental health of the UK workforce is seismic and we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg so far. Work-related stress will soar with the onset of the financial recession and this will severely affect productivity across the UK.”

The first response for HR should be to make sure staff are able to get access to an EAP, says Cooper. 

EAPA chair Eugene Farrell said: “Talking about money is a problem. As a society in general we have been used to a relative level of affluence, luxuries have come easily. Facing up to the potential prospect of losing our home, our ability to spend, is traumatic – a collapse in everything we’re used to, our routines, our identity. 

“While we’ve made great strides of progress when it comes to talking about mental health, there is a stigma around confessing to financial issues, to what might be seen as ‘failing’. 

“EAPs are and will be an invaluable source of support for staff living with financial insecurity, both in terms of providing practical support around money management and planning and emotionally and psychologically in making sure people can deal with all the associated impacts on work and relationships and staying strong through periods of change.”