The 2024 BrightPlan Wellness Barometer Survey¹ results indicate the majority of workers, including 86% of Gen Z, are stressed about their financial situation. BrightPlan, a leader in Total Financial Wellness, conducts this annual survey to gain insight on the overall state of workforce well-being.

Themes include the high cost of financial stress to companies and a disconnect between leadership and workers when it comes to financial benefits and support. Among the leaders surveyed, 92% say their company offers employees the financial guidance, support, and tools they need; but only 56% of workers agree.

“What leaders don’t recognize is that ignoring workers’ needs for financial support is having a sizable impact on their bottom line,” said Marthin De Beer, founder and CEO, BrightPlan. “Investing in financial benefits is critical to driving business success and longevity.”

Employees’ financial literacy and preparedness remain low, with just 18% of respondents having basic financial literacy.  However, 74% self-reported their literacy as being high.  Without a strong financial foundation, people are getting bad advice, with over half (55%) reporting they’ve made financial mistakes.  Workers are largely unprepared, with 8% reporting having little or no emergency savings and 42% having unmanageable debt.

And employers are playing their role to support struggling workers, with 76% of leaders saying their company is making at least one change this year due to market dynamics. Notably, the number of companies who are removing benefits is down by almost half (from 27% to 14%) since last year.

Attend the BrightPlan/Stripe speaking session at SVEF for a readout and key takeaways!

Source:

1. 2024 Wellness Barometer Survey – On behalf of BrightPlan, Walr and Workplace Intelligence surveyed 1,400 knowledge workers at companies that have a global presence with 1000+ employees in the US in January 2024. This included a mix of C-Suite, HR decision-makers and employees in various industries including technology, healthcare, financial services, education, manufacturing, energy, accounting, and government. All statistics in this article are pulled from an analysis of that survey data performed in March 2024.BrightPlan LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser that offers digital and human investment advice to US residents. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training nor does it imply endorsement by the SEC. BrightPlan is neither registered with any international agency to provide, nor does it provide, any investment advice to non-US residents. BrightPlan is a registered trademark of BrightPlan, LLC. BrightPlan is certified by the Center for Fiduciary Excellence, LLC (“CEFEX”) as having met their standards for Fiduciary Practices for Investment Advisors.