COST OF LIVING: MAKE SURE YOU CHECK IN WITH YOUR TEAM

Cost of living: make sure you check in with your team

As energy and food prices rocket, are your staff too worried about their finances to take a day off work when they’re ill?

According to new research from MetLife UK, that’s the case for almost a quarter (23%) of workers in the UK, with women worse affected by money worries than men.

Now, HR experts are urging employers to check in with staff regularly, and offer them support if they’re struggling with financial or wellbeing matters.

Adrian Lewis, Commercial Director at Activ People HR, says: “Spiralling energy and food prices, along with rising inflation, will impact us all this year, but employees must not feel they can’t take time off sick because they are concerned about money.”

Workload volumes

The MetLife UK research also found that 21% of workers are reluctant to take sick leave as they fear their boss or colleagues won’t believe that they are actually ill.

And 20% worry about their workloads piling up while they are off sick, making their working lives even harder.

Mr Lewis says: “It’s a poor reflection on British workplaces if people think their boss might not believe they were poorly or they feel overwhelmed by the amount of work they may come back to.

“Fostering a more supportive work culture could change this and make employees feel like they can approach their manager with any such concerns.”

Safe spaces

He recommends regular one-to-ones with staff, such as monthly meetings or appraisals. These provide “safe spaces” in which staff feel able to speak up about issues of concern, such as worries about money or volumes of work.

Plus, return to work interviews help to ensure that staff are supported in the workplace after a period of illness.

Mr Lewis says: “It could mean working with an individual to better manage their workload, reducing their pressures which could also positively impact their wellbeing.

“Creating an open and caring working environment will be key to supporting workers through the cost of living crisis and ensuring it doesn’t have too much of a detrimental effect on their financial or mental wellbeing.”

How can StaffSavvy help?

The rising cost of living is placing both staff and employers under huge pressure. Businesses are facing a double whammy of rising bills on the one hand, and staff management issues on the other.

Responsible employers want to support their staff through difficult periods – but can’t always spare the time and resources to do so as effectively as they’d like.

At StaffSavvy, we’re proud to offer a workplace management platform with the tools to take some of the strain off managers today, freeing them up to nurture a more supportive workplace culture.

By automating many standard workplace processes, including absence policies, the StaffSavvy platform cuts admin and allows managers to spend time on other issues, such as talking to staff about their concerns.

Plus, you can enable your staff to self-manage in many areas - boosting their engagement, improving compliance with legislation and your workplace policies, and reducing the burden on managers.

Andrew Treadwell23 June 2022