THIS INFORMATION IS EMBARGOED UNTIL NOON, NOVEMBER 9
CONTACT:
E. Thomas Garman
(540) 231-6677
[email protected]
WORKPLACE FINANCIAL EDUCATION COULD SAVE $440 MILLION
BLACKSBURG, Oct. 26, 1998--Breaking research from Virginia Tech sheds an alarming light on the impact of financial stresses on worker productivity--and the big bucks employers are losing each year due to the lack of investing in personal finance education for their employees.
By offering financial education only to their clerical workers, employers could save $440 million annually. Providing workplace financial education to all involved could save billions. These savings are anticipated because improvements in personal financial wellness reduce absenteeism. The research showed that workers who had lower levels of financial wellness tends to be absent more from work than those who had higher levels of personal financial wellness. When workers' personal financial wellness improves their absences from work decrease.
A research sample consisting of average income, white-collar clerical workers employed at a large east-coast organization revealed that:
* 53 percent report dissatisfaction with their personal financial situation; * 54 percent worry about how much they owe; * 35 percent find it hard to pay the bills; * 43 percent do not set aside money for retirement; * 60 percent have not set aside enough money to live without an income for longer than two months; and * 34 percent rate their financial stress level as high to extreme.
"Employers should know that when an employees' work productivity drops off sharply, personal financial problems are often involved," said E. Thomas Garman, a professor for Virginia Tech and Fellow with the university's Center for Organizational and Technological Advancement. Workplace financial education is a valuable investment for employers and a sought-after benefit for employees. Garman has launched a nationwide campaign for quality Personal Finance Employee Education.
Increasingly, the responsibility of providing personal finance education and services is falling to employers--not only because they have access to resources that can make such programs a valuable employee benefit, but also because it saves them money in the long run by increasing employee satisfaction and improving productivity.
Garman and Virginia Tech will host the third national conference on Personal Finance Employee Education in Roanoke, Va., Nov. 10 -- 11. Participants will have the opportunity to share information and resources that promote the best practices of personal finance employee education in the private and non-profit sectors, with the twin goals of increasing employee education productivity and the employer's bottom line. Speakers will include more than 30 experts from the industry, academia, and government, including an editor from Money Magazine. For program and registration details, see the PFEE web site at http:/www.chre.vt.edu/pfee or call (540) 231-6677 or e-mail [email protected].
For further information, contact Tom Garman, Virginia Tech professor and COTA Fellow at (540) 231-6677: fax (540) 231-3250: or e-mail [email protected]
Bookmark the Personal Finance Employee Education Web Site located at http://www.chre.vt.edu/pfee. It contains pertinent research papers, speeches, and information on conference presentations. To contact Garman during the PFEE conference, leave a message with the Hotel Roanoke Business Center at (540) 853-8242. There will be a media room set aside for interviews.
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