Your 2025 Global Financial Wellbeing Report found 60% of UK employees say money worries harm their health. What factors do you think contribute to this higher stress compared to other European countries?
The UK is reporting higher levels of mental and physical health impacts related to financial stress than many of its European peers, including France, Italy, and Germany. Interestingly, while financial literacy levels and financial behaviours in the UK are broadly in line with the rest of Europe, the standout difference appears to be emotional, particularly in how people feel about their debt. UK employees are, on average, nearly twice as likely to feel overwhelmed by debt compared to their counterparts in France, Italy, Germany, and even Spain. This highlights a growing emotional burden around debt in the UK that deserves urgent attention.
How does financial stress translate into measurable impacts on mental, physical, and social wellbeing in the workplace?
Our 2025 report makes one thing unmistakably clear: financial health is directly linked to physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and all three have profound implications for the workplace. On the mental health front, financial stress often shows up as anxiety, depression, and sleep disruption, all of which contribute to rising absenteeism and long-term leave. Physically, it can manifest as headaches, fatigue, and even high blood pressure, again, leading to time away from work. Perhaps less discussed, but equally important, is the impact on social health. Financial strain can erode morale, productivity, and team dynamics, ultimately affecting how well our people work together. As employers, we must view financial wellbeing not as a personal issue, but as a critical component of workforce health and performance.
Which demographic groups within the UK workforce are most at risk of financial stress, and why?
The data clearly highlights that younger generations and women are among the most at-risk groups when it comes to financial stress. For younger employees, this is often driven by higher levels of debt and a lack of financial literacy at key life stages. For women, we’re seeing a persistent confidence gap, not just in the UK, but globally, particularly around more complex financial topics such as investing and tax. These disparities are workplace issues that affect wellbeing, performance, and long-term financial security. As leaders, we have a responsibility to close these gaps through education, accessibility and meaningful, personalised support.
What role should employers play in supporting their people’s financial literacy and resilience?
Many leading global organisations, from AXA to PepsiCo, are investing in financial literacy because they understand its dual value: it strengthens their business and supports their people. Improving financial literacy is both a wellbeing initiative and a strategic lever. When employees feel more confident managing their finances, they bring greater focus, resilience, and energy to their work. It’s a win for individuals and a win for performance. The organisations that lead in this space will be the ones that build more engaged and future-ready workforces.
How do you design financial-education interventions that engage employees at different levels of knowledge and motivation?
Effective financial education starts with understanding your workforce. Personalize education by life stage, interests and circumstances – recognising that a new graduate and someone nearing retirement will have very different needs.
Offer education on multiple levels from foundational, intermediate and advanced. Let employees choose the level that suits them, and give them the flexibility to move at their own pace.
Make it practical and interactive through tools, guides and different formats (like on-demand learning, or live webinars). Connect education to key life events or benefits to maximise impact.
Deliver through channels employees already use and combine with proactive prompts (or we use ‘nudges’) to reach both engaged and passive learners.
Finally, track what matters. Measure engagement, shifts in financial health and behavioural change – like increased retirement contributions – and use that insight to continually improve your approach.
What metrics should organisations track to evaluate the ROI of financial-wellbeing initiatives?
While there are countless metrics to track, we recommend focusing on the ones that align with your organisation’s unique goals. We’ve created a playbook on financial wellbeing program planning, which helps employers understand how to define their objectives (or ‘find your why’) and offers recommendations on which metrics to track based on your specific goals.
With 80% of UK workers actively seeking to boost their money skills, what content or topics are in highest demand?
Our latest global financial health pulse indicates that in the UK, people are most interested in topics such as savings, investing, and budgeting. With ongoing global economic challenges, such as inflation and shifting job markets, people are becoming more focused on building stability.
How can HR and benefits leaders integrate financial-wellbeing tools into broader wellbeing and ESG strategies?
This ties directly into measuring impact, and for more in-depth guidance, our playbook offers valuable insights. Benefit leaders can integrate financial wellbeing by aligning these initiatives with the core values and mission of the organization, meaning a holistic approach to employee wellbeing. For example, AstraZeneca effectively aligned its financial wellbeing program with its core values by embedding financial education into its broader wellbeing strategy. By partnering with nudge, the company supported employees with personalized education and long-term planning, which reflected their commitment to employee empowerment, transparency, and sustainability. The program promoted accessibility and inclusivity, ensuring all employees, regardless of background, could benefit from targeted financial education. This approach not only supported the organisation’s goal of being a great place to work but also demonstrated foresight by encouraging employees to plan for their financial future. AstraZeneca’s financial wellbeing program resulted in:
- 24% increase in bonus waiver participation, adding £8.4 million to retirement contributions.
- 76% employee engagement in the ShareSave scheme, with 62% contributing an average of £333.
These outcomes demonstrate perfect financial wellbeing and business alignment.
Looking ahead, what emerging trends or challenges do you foresee in the financial-wellbeing space over the next 3–5 years?
With more people spending time alone than ever before, and with a ‘bring it to me mind-set’ – to keep-up financial education should provide quicker, simpler, trusted answers to any type of financial question, at any time.
Tides are turning on social media for information, now people are looking to friends and family for trusted guidance and support for financial wellbeing. So learning together and sharing will become vital.
People want local, authentic – not generic-global experiences. Another trend that’s essentially the next-level to personalisation is ensuring the people get a truly authentic financial wellbeing experience for them, their culture, and their family.
