Greenlight For Work Tackles Top Source Of Stress For Working Parents

Yesterday family fintech company Greenlight released new data surveying working parents’ feelings about their financial wellness. Their data found that parents ranked money as their top source of stress, followed by their job and health. 81% of parents also said the state of the economy had increased their financial stress and anxiety, and consequently, money and financial literacy have become the most difficult skills to teach their kids.

To reduce financial stress and anxiety among working parents, Greenlight added a new financial education product, Greenlight for Work. The employee benefits program is designed for companies to help employees manage family finances and improve their families’ financial literacy. Matt Wolf, SVP of Business Development for Greenlight, explains:

“Working parents are facing tremendous financial pressures and, as a result, are seeking better employee benefits to support the financial well-being of their families. More than half said they weren’t prepared to weather another economic downturn, and if offered financial education from their employer, they would be more productive at work.”

Related, MetLife’s 19th annual Employee Benefit Trends (EBTS) study reported the biggest trend emerging from the pandemic was employees increasingly wanting benefits that supported their holistic well-being, including their financial health. MetLife also found that even though 64% of employees rank financial wellness tools as a top-five benefit, only 37% of employers planned to invest more in such benefits.

Greenlight’s data aligned with MetLife’s findings: 98% of parents Greenlight surveyed said employee benefits that impact their family’s well-being are important to them. Yet, almost half said their current employer does not care about their family’s financial well-being.

“Parents know it’s important to teach their kids about money, but many don’t have the time or resources they need,” Wolf explains. “Greenlight for Work is a first-of-its-kind employee benefits program that focuses on financial wellness for the whole family. It’s intended to help progressive employers support their employees and their families with a holistic financial wellness package.”

Wolf reports that early Greenlight for Work partners includes various companies across the financial, healthcare, and education industries and leading benefits consultants.

Employers should invest in such benefits: supporting team members and their families’ financial health is critical. The stress regarding financial health can take a toll on employee mental health, which affects productivity and contributes to stress and burnout.