Financial Education and its effect in the Workplace
Have you ever wondered the ripple effect of financial illiteracy in the workplace? Yes, you receive a higher salary upon renewing your contract. But the perks and high salary do not necessarily equate to financial satisfaction and job productivity.
When an employee does not know where to put his wages, an increment will not just solve the problem. You have heard many employees and mid-career professionals with financial problems due to mismanaging their resources.
In other words, financial stress is a condition that is becoming more prevalent in today’s society due to factors such as high debt levels, low savings, and economic recessions. Needless to say, financial stress negatively influences employees’ performance at work including many OFWs.
Read:4 GREAT REASONS to have multiple streams of income for OFWs
Financial stress can cripple your productivity
Personal financial stress can seep into the workplace and begin to cripple your productivity. Just because your organization provides respectable wages does not mean that you’re immune to financially stressed employees.
A few months ago, the executive director of the school where I work called teachers that are up for renewals of contract. I received an increment with detailed perks after many years of working at the school. It was quite a temptation, for as they say that when wages increase, spending also increases.
But when this happens, you will just end up with unwanted debt when you fail to manage your resources despite receiving a higher salary. An employee who fails to repay his loan in the company would ruin his reputation and eventually drop his work performance.
The importance of financial education
In addition, any employee who gets involved in any form of fraudulent investment scheme can cause harm not just to him but to the company where he works with. There is no doubt much financial worry can greatly affect your job performance.
Philippine embassies across the world have seen the horrible consequences of mismanaging money, which has resulted in conflicts among OFWs. In some worse case scenarios, an OFW had to be deported from the host country.
What are the direct results of financial problems at work? It could be tardiness, a decline in productivity, inefficiency, social problems like conflict with colleagues in the workplace due to loans, and many more. What are the samples of financial concerns of OFWs in the workplace?
This could be not having enough emergency savings for unexpected expenses, not being able to retire when you want to, not being able to meet monthly expenses, being laid off from work, not being able to keep up with your debts, and failure to send remittances back home.
With these increasing pressures on personal finances and its interference on work, management should attempt to improve employees’ financial well- being. No wonder many companies conduct financial literacy workshops and seminars and adopt a schedule of financial counseling where employees can attend a session to learn financial skills that can help them better manage their money.
The benefits of financial literacy
What are the benefits of financial education in the workplace? It can absolutely increase productivity, workers are more focused on their jobs, reduce tardiness and absenteeism, lessen stress due to healthy financial well-being, there is happiness and work satisfaction, healthier employees, and reduced turnover.
In addition, an OFW with sound financial education would improve not just family relationship but even at work. He feels secure because there is adequate retirement preparation.
But there is no doubt job satisfaction rate is higher when an employee is debt-free and happy with his work. Therefore, financial literacy is crucial to help ensure OFWs are managing their resources wisely.
Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow. –Robert Kiyosaki
PS: Follow the author Mr. Jun Amparo to get to know more about how to properly manage your finances at RichlyBlessedToday.
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