Workers still concerned about financial well-being

(Washington, D.C.) – Results from the 2024 Workplace Wellness Survey published today by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research found worker concerns about well-being are trending downward, yet half still express at least moderate concern about their financial well-being.  Also, three-quarters of workers stated that their current level of debt is a problem.

The fifth annual Workplace Wellness Survey examined worker attitudes towards employment-based benefits in the workplace, as well as a broad spectrum of financial and mental well-being, employment-based health insurance and retirement benefit issues.

“Workers broadly agree that their employers have a responsibility to make sure employees are mentally healthy, physically healthy and financially healthy,” explained Jake Spiegel, research associate, Wealth and Health Benefits Research, EBRI. “Progress is being made. However, we still see some workplace stressors. Seven in ten workers are concerned that their employers will reduce or eliminate retirement benefits, and half say that saving enough for retirement is their number one stressor.”

Key highlights in the 2024 survey report include:
• Concerns about well-being are trending downward, yet half still express at least moderate concern about their financial well-being. Concern about mental well-being is down in 2024, with workers rating their level of concern an average of 5.5 out of 10, compared to 5.8 in 2023. Additionally, there is a general trend of concern about financial and physical well-being decreasing, with financial well-being concerns dropping from 6.9 to 6.3 between 2022 and 2024, and physical dropping from 6.2 to 5.7 out of 10.

• Retirement savings. While half of workers indicated that saving enough for retirement causes them the most stress, six in ten workers said that their retirement savings plans contributed a lot to their feelings of financial security, up from 2023. Additionally, half agreed that their retirement plan savings were the only significant emergency savings they had, a decrease over the levels observed in 2023.

• Fifty-six percent of workers are very or extremely satisfied with their current job, with only 14% expressing dissatisfaction. About one in five workers reported that their company has increased efforts to help them manage their overall well-being, while two-thirds report that their company’s efforts have stayed the same.

• Workers report similar satisfaction with their benefits package as in prior years, with top improvements being a greater employer contribution and financial wellness benefits/resources. Just over 4 in 10 are extremely/very satisfied with their benefits package, in line with prior years. The top improvements suggested are greater financial contributions from their employer (51%), more resources/benefits to help with financial well-being (32%), more choice (31%) and personal time off conversion (31%).

• As AI tools proliferate, many workers seem to be prepared. Over half (57%) say that they are comfortable using AI tools at work, and a majority (51%) indicate that AI tools help them do their jobs more effectively or efficiently. Less than one-third (31%) responded that they were concerned that increased AI adoption may threaten their jobs.

“While concerns about well-being have trended down during the past two years, some American workers continue to face challenges affording their basic needs. Of the three-quarters who report that their level of debt is a problem, nearly 8 in 10 cite problematic credit card debt. Many say their credit card debt is driven by groceries (52%), vehicle expenses (49%) and household utilities (36%). Indicating that these debt issues may come from paying for everyday necessities,” said Greg Hershberger, managing director, Health and Benefits, Greenwald Research.

This year’s study included a national sample of 1,005 American full-time and part-time workers from ages 21-64. Information for this study was gathered through 20-minute online interviews conducted from July 22-August 18, 2024. This year’s survey also included an oversample of 500 military veteran workers.  The results from this oversample will be published later this year.

To review the complete 2024 Workplace Wellness Survey report, visit www.ebri.org/health/Workplace-Wellness-Survey.