The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates around 1.5 million people work as construction laborers and helpers.
While the construction sector has shown growth and strength over the last few years, PwC found one in three employees are stressed about their personal finances and bring those stresses to the workplace. Therefore, employers need to focus on dealing with employees’ workplace and personal stressors.
Programs like targeted financial wellness can help construction employees better handle their finances, improve employee health and help employees stop living paycheck to paycheck.
The Sources of Construction Workplace Stress
To better understand how financial wellness education and tools can address construction employees’ needs, it’s important to first understand the nature of the stress employees face that affects their performance and overall happiness.
Low Wages
One of the leading stressors affecting construction employees is low wages for many young employees. While tenured and management-level employees are paid higher salaries, low wages are a common part of entry-level work in many organizations.
Irregular Schedules
For construction employees, contracted work or unusual hours are common. Employee stress can be tied to irregular schedules, especially if employees are working outside typical business hours.
Employee Personas
Employee demographics and personas can help employers better understand the financial wellness tools that can address their employees’ stresses. Every employee’s financial journey is different, so understanding how different cohorts behave can help employers tailor plans to best meet those needs. Here are some broad examples of major employment groups and how their financial needs may differ.
Younger Employees
Across the board, younger workers pose a unique situation for employers. Young employees tend to forego retirement planning in favor of more short-term goals such as paying off debt and focusing on their current bills. In fact, close to 70 percent of millennials say they haven’t saved anything for retirement yet, according to a survey from Earnest.
Older Employees
In contrast, older employees are likely thinking about retirement, increased health care costs and sending their children to college. These financial needs mean the education and resources older employees need to manage their personal finances will differ from their millennial counterparts.
Financial Wellness for Construction Workers
Although wellness benefits such as retirement plans are the go-to solution for many employers, they’re rarely a one-size-fits-all solution. Construction employers should instead focus on providing individualized benefits to each of their key employee personas to help them better address employees’ needs. Access to financial wellness tools such as education and planning can help employees of all income levels and demographics address their own personal financial needs.
Personalized Communication
In addition to being able to provide customized guidance to employee groups based on their needs, financial wellness programs often feature communication tools that help employers communicate with employees in different ways. Older employees may prefer on-demand access to resources, while younger employees may want frequent digital communications about changes to their benefits. Financial wellness solutions can often give employers the upper hand when encouraging employees to interact with their personal finances based on their habits and preferences.
High ROIs
Even if an organization is unable to afford adding additional benefits to their roster, financial wellness can provide the education employees need to understand their next financial steps for a typically low cost. The ROI for employers who use financial wellness education can be as high as $7 for every $1 invested.
From younger employees who need help paying down student loans to older employees thinking about retirement, taking a holistic approach to financial education and wellness can help employers provide employees with the knowledge and resources to address their financial goals and plans.
