Researchers at MetLife have been tracking workplace well-being for more than a decade.
They classify well-being in the following 5 categories:
Physical Health
Mental Health
Social Health
Financial Health
Holistic/Overall Health
The Covid crisis taught employers to focus more on the well-being of their employees, and that effort has paid off as workplace well-being scores have been flat or trending moderately higher over the last four years.
All seemed to be going well until about 12 months ago when a sharp decline started to emerge in the financial health category.
Like a flashing red light on life’s dashboard, financial stress is showing up in the following ways:
-an increase of those living paycheck to paycheck
-a decrease in those feeling “in control of their finances”
-a decrease in those who have a three-month savings cushion
-a decrease in those who feel they are adequately contributing to retirement savings
For employees who have traditional jobs, the financial stress is mainly being driven by inflation.
But what about agents?
They have the same financial stress of traditional employees, plus most have experienced declining incomes as real estate transactions have stagnated.
The perfect storm is brewing, and financial stress has the attention of your agents at every level.
And it should have your attention too.
Start asking your agents: How are you and your family doing financially?
By showing empathy, you’ll build a deeper connection with those who are struggling.
If you help them solve this problem, you’ll be making an investment that will pay dividends in long-term loyalty to you and your team.