A guide for HR and talent leaders on building financial capability that improves focus, retention, and workforce stability.

Financial wellness has moved from 'nice-to-have benefit' to material people risk. But not because employees suddenly care more about money, and not simply because of inflation or rising living costs.

The real shift is that employers can now see the problem.

For the first time, we have credible data linking financial stress to measurable business outcomes: distraction, decision quality, and retention risk. Financial stress is rarely the only reason for any of these, but it’s often an amplifier, making everything else worse. What was once dismissed as a 'personal problem' is now visible as an organisational one.

That visibility changes the conversation. For HR and talent leaders, the question is no longer whether to address financial stress, but how to do so in a way that actually moves the needle on focus, on stability, and on the trust employees place in your organisation's commitment to their wellbeing.

This guide will help you figure out four things:

Whether you actually need a financial wellness programme, or whether you're dealing with a different problem
What specific focus areas matter for your context, so you don't end up buying something generic that helps no one
What to look for in a provider, and how to tell the difference between programmes that change behaviour and ones that just get people into a room.
How to build a business case your leadership will actually take seriously

It covers what we've learned about what works, what doesn't, and how to introduce a financial wellness programme that builds lasting capability rather than ticking a benefits box.

Why financial wellness has become a business problem

The Wealthbit Financial Stress Report, based on a survey with South African employees, puts some numbers to what many HR leaders already sense and to what Financial Advisors have seen over decades of coaching their clients:

> Four in five employees regularly worry about money.

They think about it when they're trying to relax or sleep. It causes tension with partners, family, and friends. Some experience physical symptoms.

And it shows up at work.

> Almost 60% say financial stress distracts them on the job. Over 80% say their energy and motivation take a hit because of money worries.

That's most of your people. Not a small group with 'money problems'. Most of them.

And once you see it, you notice how it compounds. People under financial stress make more errors. They have less capacity to take on new challenges or absorb change. They're more likely to be scanning for other opportunities.

In fact:

> Over 80% of employees say financial stress leads them to think more about changing jobs.

Financial pressure creates a restless, scanning mindset. When people feel financially unstable, they're less committed, less able to take on stretch assignments, and more likely to jump at any opportunity that feels like it might help. And it’s not only low-income earners that are affected.

Here's something that surprises a lot of people:

> Financial stress is just as common among high earners as it is among people earning less. The problem often isn't income. It's the lack of a system.

People can earn good money and still feel out of control if they don't have clarity on where it goes, what they're building toward, or how to make financial decisions confidently.

At the same time, 48% of employees have taken on or are seriously considering a side hustle. That means they're already reactively trying to solve the problem themselves, just not in ways that benefit the organisation. Side hustles consume cognitive bandwidth. They create scheduling conflicts. They signal that employees don't trust their primary income to meet their needs.

When you add it up, financial stress becomes an operational and leadership risk. It directly affects workforce planning, whether your Employee Wellness Programme feels genuine, how well you retain people during tough periods, and how effectively leaders can lead under pressure.

If you're trying to build a stable, high-performing team, helping people get financially capable isn't a perk. It's a foundation.

Step 1: Do you actually need a financial wellness programme?

Before you buy anything, it's worth finding out what problem you're actually solving. A financial wellness programme is a good tool, but it's not the right tool for everything.

When a programme probably won't help yet

A financial wellness programme won't fix these on its own:

Your pay and role design are uncompetitive for the market. If people are genuinely underpaid, a wellness programme is a band-aid on a structural problem.
Workload and management issues are driving burnout. Financial stress can amplify burnout, but if the root cause is overwork or poor leadership, you need to address that first.
Trust is broken. People won't use benefits they think are being monitored or judged. If there's stigma around asking for help, you need to fix that before introducing a programme.

A good provider can help you work through some of this. But you'll get better results if you're clear-eyed about the situation going in.

When a programme makes sense

You probably need a structured programme if you're seeing at least two of these:

Resignations are rising in key roles, and 'pay' isn't the full story in exit conversations
High presenteeism signals: low focus, missed deadlines, fatigue, shorter tempers, slower decisions
More requests for pay advances, loans, or hardship support through HR or payroll
Performance dips after month-end or during high-pressure periods
Managers spending more time dealing with personal crises that have a money component

The Wealthbit research shows why these indicators matter: When people feel out of control financially, they don't sit still. They look for ways to cope, or ways out. About 20% have already taken on side hustles to ease the pressure, which stretches their focus and energy even thinner. Over 30% frequently look at other jobs. That’s high activity from a lot of our people.

Not sure where your organisation stands? Wealthbit offers a free anonymous financial stress survey you can run with your team to get a baseline before making any decisions.

Step 2: What to look for and why most wellness programmes fail

Most wellness programmes get engagement rates below 10%. That's a design flaw. Understanding why they fail will help you spot the difference between something that works and something that just looks good on paper.

Why most programmes fail

They're one-size-fits-all. A graduate with student debt, a mid-career parent juggling school fees, and someone approaching retirement have almost nothing in common financially. A generic programme feels irrelevant to all of them, so none of them engage.

They stop at information. A workshop can explain why budgeting matters. But knowing you should budget and actually having a budget that works for your life are completely different things. Most programmes teach concepts without helping people apply them.

They're events, not systems. A single session, no matter how good, gets forgotten within a week. Behaviour change requires reinforcement over time. Without follow-up, check-ins, or tools that keep people engaged, nothing sticks.

Leadership isn't involved. When financial wellness feels like 'an HR thing', employees read it as optional or performative. Programmes without visible leadership support get ignored.

What a good programme needs to cover

People experience financial stress differently depending on where they are in life. A solid programme needs to address all of these areas, not just one:

Focus area	What it looks like	What helps
Day-to-day stability	Running out of money before month-end High debt stress, garnishees, payday lending More hardship requests	Practical budgeting systems Debt strategies Quick wins that reduce immediate pressure
Decision confidence	Avoiding decisions and delaying admin Panicking when things change Anxiety around tax, insurance, credit, and savings	Step-by-step guidance (not theory) Decision tools and checklists Clear sequencing based on where someone is
Long-term capability	Career progression stalling Job-hopping for short-term cash Low engagement with retirement benefits	Pathways by life stage and goal Reinforcement that helps habits stick over months Measurement that shows progress

How to evaluate providers

When you're comparing options, ask questions that reveal whether a provider can actually deliver behaviour change. Here's a scorecard:

What you need	Questions to ask	Watch out for
Personalised pathways	How do you help people find relevant next steps? What does the journey look like for someone with no system vs someone who is budgeting tightly?	One approach for everyone
Action over information	How do you help people build habits? What happens between sessions?	‘We do workshops’ with nothing in between
Real measurement	What will we see each month? How do you show impact without accessing personal data?	Only attendance numbers
Help with rollout	What do you provide for managers? How do you support our internal launch?	Expects HR to handle adoption alone
Local relevance	How is content adapted for South African products and realities?	Imported content that doesn’t fit local context

Step 3: How to build a business case your leadership will actually take seriously

By this point, most leaders won’t argue that financial stress exists. The hesitation usually comes down to this: is this really a business issue, or just another wellbeing initiative we’re expected to support?

The easiest way to answer that is to connect financial stress to problems leadership is already worried about. Not in abstract terms, but in everyday ones: people leaving when they’re otherwise doing well, managers spending more time dealing with personal crises, teams that seem permanently distracted, and employees who struggle to cope when pressure increases.

You don’t need a perfect data set to make the case. Look at what you already have:

Exit conversations
Requests for pay advances or hardship support
Engagement scores around focus and energy
Manager feedback

When you put these together, a pattern usually emerges: financial pressure isn’t the root cause, but it’s making everything else harder.

It also helps to be clear about what success actually looks like. A financial wellness programme isn’t there to make people “happy about money”. It should reduce noise and increase people's confidence in everyday decisions.

When framed this way, the conversation shifts. This isn’t about adding another benefit. It’s about strengthening a weak point in how your workforce copes, and protecting the performance you already have.

FAQs

What's the difference between financial education and financial wellness?

Financial education is information: what budgeting is, how compound interest works. Financial wellness is capability: being able to apply that information consistently, especially when things get stressful. The difference is between knowing you should budget and having a budget that works for your life.

How do we connect financial wellness to retention without overpromising?

Frame it as risk reduction. The Wealthbit data shows that over 70% of employees say financial stress makes them consider other jobs. A programme that reduces that stress reduces the restless, scanning mindset. You're improving stability and focus, which are known factors in retention. You're not guaranteeing specific outcomes.

What's the simplest way to start if we have limited capacity?

Start with a financial stress survey to understand your baseline. That helps you identify what focus areas matter and builds your internal case with real data. Then pilot with one group before rolling out more broadly.

How do we measure impact responsibly?

Track aggregated measures: participation rates, engagement trends, shifts in self-reported stress or confidence over time. You can also look at relevant HR indicators like absence patterns, retention, and EAP usage. Good programmes see 40%+ engagement; struggling ones sit below 10%. Give it a few months before expecting to see patterns.

What engagement rate should we expect?

Most financial wellness programmes get below 10% engagement. Programmes with visible leadership support, personalised pathways, and ongoing reinforcement regularly hit 40% or more. The difference comes down to how the programme is designed, not how interested employees are.

How to decide if your company needs a financial wellness programme and choose the right one