Money worries are increasing for the UK population, a survey or employees suggests.
The percentage of people who said financial problems were negatively impacting their life increased from 20% to 26% and the proportion who were satisfied with their financial situation decreased from just over half, to 43%.
Willis Towers Watson surveyed 2,824 people for its ‘Financial worries’ report and said those with the most pressing money worries were most likely to suffer from poorer health and higher levels of stress and absenteeism, which can also lead to low engagement at work.
The decline in financial satisfaction reverses the trend of the previous six years, the firm said, and coincides with an upturn in unsecured household debt since 2013, alongside “squeezed incomes”.
But employers are more aware of the problem, with 69% agreeing that they should take an active role in encouraging employees to manage their personal finances better.
Nearly 60% of the employers surveyed as part of a wider global benefits survey claimed they will have implemented financial well-being programmes for their employees in three years.
Richard Sweetman, senior consultant at Willis Towers Watson, said: “After the relative optimism of 2015, 2017 has marked a return to the bad old days of low financial confidence.
“Rising indebtedness, low growth in wages, and global political uncertainty are likely to be contributing to this trend.”
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