If we learned anything from recent elections – locally, provincially and internationally – the issue on the mind of the public these days is affordability. And there’s a lesson in there for businesses too.
Affordability is not just a ballot box issue: it’s a workplace issue too. And it is causing stress for employees struggling to make ends meet. In fact, finances are the number one reason cited by workers making disability claims under employer-sponsored benefits programs.
This information came from Debbie Pearmain, a Vancouver-based HR expert who was in the province this week to meet with local CEOs.
She says business executives would do well to take a fresh look at their benefits plans. That’s because the average utilization of assistance for mental health issues is just 12-percent, even though it is rampant with 500,000 employees off the job weekly in this country. To give that some context, Saskatchewan has roughly 600,000 people holding a job.
Pearmain also suggests employers may find that offering benefits such as financial planning or budgeting advice may be one of the most useful and inexpensive things they can offer their team.
