3 min read
Workplace dialogue around mental and physical health historically has received the majority of the wellness attention. Recently, I’ve started to finally see more published regarding something I’ve been messaging for a while: to improve mental and physical health, we have to focus on the greatest stressor for many/most…our money!
nudge’s 2025 Global financial wellbeing research confirms what I’ve always suspected, financial wellbeing is treated the lowest among all pillars of wellbeing - and yet it could potentially have the biggest impact on overall wellbeing.
Stress, dissatisfaction, and anxiety are on the rise. According to recent data from Guardian’s Mind, Body, and Wallet report 2025, only 44% of Americans report being very satisfied with their lives, the lowest level in over 25 years. Over half of U.S. adults say they feel more anxious than they did just a year ago. And the top four sources of this stress? All financially rooted: inflation, cost of living, job insecurity, and retirement savings.
It’s tempting to view these as economic issues. But in reality, they’re wellness issues. And when financial wellness is neglected, it affects more than just our back pocket, it strains mental and physical health and challenges an employee’s ability to show up fully at work and at home.
Here’s the disconnect: while many wellness programs tout holistic care, few treat financial health with the same seriousness as mental or physical wellness. And that’s a mistake.
When I work with employers, I often see wellness initiatives that emphasize gym memberships, meditation apps, and nutrition workshops. These are all valuable. But when an employee is worried about making rent, juggling debt, or affording childcare, it's difficult, if not impossible to focus on other areas of wellbeing.
The truth is, money affects your mind and body. And when financial health is ignored, overall wellbeing suffers.
To the best of my knowledge, nudge’s 2025 global financial wellbeing report: navigating volatility is the only global financial wellbeing research in the industry. It lays out, with clarity, how prioritizing financial health and literacy leads to reduced anxiety and depression, to improved workforce engagement and contentment.
Employers need to understand how their people define wellness, and increasingly, the answer includes financial stability. Wellness looks different for every employee, from a 23-year-old paying off student loans to a 55-year-old planning for retirement. But across the board, financial confidence is a common denominator for wellbeing.
To deliver programs that actually gain positive momentum for employee wellbeing, employers need to:
Financial health isn't “nice to have.” It’s the foundation that supports everything else. Let’s stop treating financial wellbeing as an afterthought. To learn more, I encourage you to read nudge’s 2025 report and evaluate how your organization is supporting employees’ financial literacy.