The holidays bring so much joy and cheer, but they can also bring a lot of stress and chaos. Americans spend more money over a quick 60-day period at the end of each year than they do any other month throughout the year. 

Contrary to what one might assume, holiday spending was actually up in winter of 2020. Last year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) projected U.S. consumers would spend up to $767 billion through the months of November and December. This would represent a 5.2% increase compared to 2019.

While employees’ spending habits aren’t your concern necessarily, their ability to focus at work is…

How are Holiday Spending and Work Focus Connected?

Financial stress makes it difficult for employees to concentrate at work. More than 40% of employees admit that financial stress makes it difficult for them to concentrate at work and claim financial stress causes feelings of fatigue, as well as interferes with their sleep. 

In fact, research by John Hancock Retirement found the loss of productivity combined with absenteeism from financial stress costs employers more than an estimated $1,900 per year, per employee, and total an estimated annual loss of $1 million for mid-sized employers and $19 million for large employers.

With the above said, it’s not just about numbers or dollar signs.

Showing you care for your employees, making them feel more human, has had a major positive effect within the workplace in 2020.

This idea of humanism is about the development of the employee’s self-concept, aiding the employee in feeling good about him or herself, starting to gain an understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses, and creating a belief in one’s ability to improve.

In general, when your employees feel good about themselves, they typically:

• Work better
• Are generally happier
• Act more engaged in the office
• Can become a better and stronger asset for your team

With the pandemic, achieving the above results has been extremely difficult to accomplish without looking outside the box.

4 Tips to Make a Difference for Your Employees This Year

One way to help make a difference for your employees is to offer them benefits that provide actual value in their day-to-day lives. 

Ask yourself, do you offer a loan program for your employees within your financial wellness program? If you don’t, you should. 

Your employees can have the best financial counseling available and they still may not get out of debt because they need a solution to get them started. TrueConnect is the solution your employers need and it includes the 4 tips that your small-dollar loan program must include for your employees.

Here are 4 ways that TrueConnect makes a real difference in your employees lives:

• No credit check loans – TrueConnect loans do not require a credit check to apply or be approved. Period.
• Safe repayment – All repayment is through payroll deduction so your employees don’t have to remember to pay it back on their own. This is so important to get out of debt!
• Building credit – While TrueConnect doesn’t require a credit check, all repayments are reported to all three major credit bureaus so your employees may actually build credit with TrueConnect loans.
• Employer-sponsored so less risk – When your employees go to the bank or to a dreaded payday lender, they’re on their own. When they take out a TrueConnect loan, they’re supported by you, their employer, and by their other colleagues using the program. If you trust the program, they trust the program.

To learn more about TrueConnect’s patented financial wellness program with no credit check loans that cost employers nothing to implement and manage, contact TrueConnect today.