Dive Brief:
- Just Capital and PayPal are seeking to make worker financial well-being a priority among C-suite executives and investors. The two organizations announced July 13 the first group of companies to join their initiative, a cohort that includes Chipotle, Chobani, Even, Prudential Financial and Verizon.
- The companies will assess their workers' financial vulnerabilities and identify ways to improve their fiscal well-being in the long term. Participants may choose to assess employer-provided benefits or living wages, or they may elect to embark on an employee survey. Such assessments mirror the purpose of the initiative itself, Just Capital said in a press release, by aiming "to ensure that corporate leaders are aware of workers' financial wellbeing."
- Just Capital and PayPal worked with the Financial Health Network and the Good Jobs Institute to launch the initiative. The organizations will provide participating companies a number of resources, including some designed for HR and compensation professionals.
Dive Insight:
Employers are taking notice of worker financial wellness.
Nearly two-thirds (62%) of employers said they feel "extremely" responsible for employees' financial well-being in a September 2020 Bank of America report. That's compared to 13% who gave the same response in 2013, the bank said.
When it came to the specifics of workers' finances, employers reported feeling even more strongly. Eighty percent said they were "very or extremely responsible" for helping employees prepare for retirement healthcare needs and costs, for example.
Employers can optimize their financial wellness offerings by removing the silos between organizational leadership and HR professionals, wrote Daniel Bryant and Heather Garbers in an HR Dive opinion. Together, these teams can pinpoint employee needs using analytics, augment existing programs and promote new initiatives.
