For over a hundred million workers, living paycheck to paycheck, balancing multiple jobs, and being upside-down in debt is a daily reality. Every day is stressful and it just seems like there’s no way out. That stress is carried everywhere people go — family events, school, and even work. More than 84% of employees surveyed spend a significant amount of time at work worrying about their personal finances, with 68% stating they feel personal finance issues impact their health.
As a young kid growing up in Lebanon, I remember some of the conversations my parents had around money and saw firsthand the stress it put on my parents. For many of us, money is a finite resource and for my parents back then, money was tight. We had to make choices between clothing, food, and housing. These difficult choices were always made in the interest of their children. My parents, like all other parents, wanted us to have everything we needed to be successful and have a better quality of life — simply, to be happier.
While I’m sitting here watching my own two kids play, I think back to those times and wonder how much relief it would have brought my parents to have some help.
Emergence of earned wage access
With our focus on people, we’re always looking for innovative ways to help organizations carve out the best way for their people to discover their best life-work journey. Sometimes, people just need a little help to get started and some guidance to stay on track. Prospective and current employees are calling on employers to offer more than just a job — they’re looking for their organization to do more, care more, and really help them grow as people.
In the past few years, there’s been an emerging benefit seeing explosive growth for its unique way of providing organizations a way to support their people financially with their own pay. This benefit is earned wage access. In a nutshell, earned wage access gives people access to their pay before pay day. It’s pretty simple, right? Bills don’t always line up with pay day, so when your people need it most, they can access up to 50% of their pay as soon as their shift ends.
It doesn’t stop there. Organizations offering this kind of benefit are also seeing vast improvements in productivity and reduced absenteeism. When people don’t have to worry about bills, rent, and other costs of life, they can better focus, engage, and put their best foot forward in the workplace. And, in the era of the candidate’s market, job seekers are increasingly seeking benefits like earned wage access to pique their interest and confidence in their next career step, making it a competitive differentiator for employers.
Going beyond on-demand pay
If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that life and work are intertwined and people have uniquely personal goals, focuses, aspirations, and responsibilities that inevitably bleed into the workplace. This environment of life-work synchrony has no doubt led to the rise in financial wellness initiatives and a stronger emphasis on supporting people’s health, safety, and confidence.
Earned wage access has become a win-win benefit for organizations and their people to embrace better financial wellness — instilling a culture of engagement and satisfaction in work and life, no matter what financial burdens people are facing, such as renting their first apartment or investing in childcare for their growing families.
Say hello to UKG Wallet
We’ve had a lot of organizations ask about earned wage access, which puts a smile on my face because we're seeing a breakthrough in how employees are viewed and valued — as people first. It’s because of this that I am beyond excited to share our latest solution, UKG Wallet, with you here.
Whether you’re interested in showcasing to candidates or demonstrating to employees that you are a people-first employer, I’d invite you to click here to learn more about UKG Wallet — designed to connect you with your people in a deeper and meaningful way. And don't miss our press release on UKG Wallet for the full story. Until next time, take care.
