Support in the workplace comes in all different shapes, sizes and benefit packages. For many team and HR leaders, supporting employees often looks like providing and explaining health and wellness benefits or offering career development opportunities. Financial wellness is a critical part of that support. Many employees still live paycheck-to-paycheck. In our annual state of employee financial wellness report, 5000 employees told us they are consistently stressed about their finances.
Often, financial wellness support just orbits investment and retirement opportunities. Instead, HR teams should offer financial wellness benefits that address both short-term relief—such as earned wage access (EWA)—and long-term growth like 401ks. But financial support goes beyond EWA or long-term growth and retirement opportunities: perks and rewards and recognition are important for any workplace.
Consider how different your employees actually are, and try providing financial wellness benefits tailored to their personality traits by way of the Money Mindset quiz.
Money Mindsets are tailored saving and spending personality traits. For example, if your employee takes the quiz and discovers their spending personality is the Octopus, they are likely to be boisterous, fun and spend their money freely when they get it. An Octopus Money Mindset would enjoy different rewards and recognition and perks and desire public recognition than, say, an Ostrich Money Mindset who would prefer to be privately acknowledged.
Financial wellness support for your employees doesn’t have to be a one-size-fits-all approach.
Ahead, you’ll understand:
Your employees are diverse, with varying needs, wants and goals. Money Mindsets was developed with this in mind as a shame-free, accessible tool for employees and employers to better understand spending and buying personas.
By taking the Money Mindset quiz, your employees will be given a new perspective of their financial selves, with individualized and tailored resources to help them.
Your workers are looking to take more control and have agency over their financial lives but they’re also turning to their employers for help.
You can provide many financial benefits beyond EWA to your employees, and tailor them specifically to their Money Mindset. By understanding and providing the right financial wellness tools to your employees’ mindsets, you are helping them build on their current strengths and needs and getting them closer to their goals.
Data tells us that perks, rewards, benefits and overall recognition at work matter greatly to workers. They boost productivity, according to Gallup, and individual employee engagement on the job. This can lead to more loyalty at work, reduced turnover and increased retention.
According to CNBC, 56% of employees are less likely to look for a new job if they are recognized regularly. These programs and offerings can substantially impact your business, too. For example, if retention is an issue, a recognition program may help your employees stay and that can help you reduce hiring costs.
Get better insight into each mindset below and the corresponding ZayZoon perks and rewards and recognition best suited for each.
The Octopus is the embodiment of enjoyment. They like to make purchases and live life to its fullest. Octopus mindsets are generally less driven by financial planning and goals. To close the gap in that area, it might be beneficial to select those types of perks and rewards. Still, an Octopus won’t say no to shopping.
Perks and rewards best suited for an Octopus include:
An Ostrich likes routine. It’s the Get Ready With Me TikTok equivalent of a nourishing bedtime routine. Ostrich mindsets are slightly more anxious around their finances. For example, where an Octopus would splurge on a last-minute trip, an Ostrich wouldn’t because they couldn’t risk being put in a potentially bad financial spot.
Perks and rewards best suited for an Ostrich include:
The Beaver is meticulous when it comes to all things finance. From budgeting to long-term financial planning to risk assessment, the Beaver has everything covered. The Beaver wants to know they have the resources available if an emergency happens—but it plans to avoid one altogether.
Perks and rewards best suited for a Beaver include:
Forty-seven percent of employees are a Squirrel mindset. Financially conscious, Squirrels know the power of saving for a rainy day. That means they track their budget and rarely stray from it.
Perks and rewards best suited for a Squirrel include:
The Raccoon embodies thriftiness. Think Extreme Couponing. That’s a Raccoon’s idea of a good time. A Raccoon shopper wants to stretch their dollar as far as possible, finding incredibly clever ways to do so. Points for flights? A Raccoon loves ‘em. Cash back? A Raccoon needs it!
Perks and rewards best suited for a Raccoon include:
The Bull mindset is the riskiest of the bunch. Bulls like to look at the stock market in the morning, noon and night to get a better understanding of how their investments are doing. Bulls are more experimental and interested in the next big opportunity, with real confidence in themselves and they have the resources to take such a chance.
Perks and rewards best suited for a Bull include:
Recognizing hard work in a meaningful way doesn't come easy to a lot of people. For example, there’s a prevailing notion that the work is worth it. But that’s not the case for everyone. Data tells us a different story: according to SHRM, 94% of employees who are recognized daily are satisfied.
Below are a few tips to make the most out of rewarding, recognizing and providing perks to your employees.
Engage and support your employees by offering financial wellness benefits and recognition incentives. Learn more about your employees’ Money Mindset by getting them to take the quiz.