Finances are leading cause of stress

Asked to identify their leading cause of stress, 23 percent of respondents selected “finances” and 21 percent chose “job/career” - the top two responses to an online poll conducted by LifeCare, Inc., the exclusive provider of Life Event Management Services. The poll was open to employees of LifeCare's 1,500 client companies nationwide via its web site, www.lifecare.com, during the month of April.

“For the past few years, finances have stayed at the top of the list in our employee polls regarding stress,” notes Marianne C. Stook, LifeCare's vice president of Marketing Services. “That's one of the reasons we continue to recommend that employers strongly consider offering professional financial counseling services to their workers. These services are extremely cost-effective to deliver and they can make a tremendous difference to employees - especially in reducing their stress levels. That, in turn, can impact their career-related stress levels and ultimately translate into productivity gains.”

Other leading causes of stress respondents cited in the LifeCare poll were:

Lack of control over their time - 12%

• Issues with spouse or significant other - 12%
• Child care/parenting issues - 8%
• Personal issues - 7%
• Home maintenance - 5%
• Medical issues - 4%
• Elder care issues - 3%
• Pets - 1%
• Other - 4%

The Growing Need for Financial Services

Stook says that the need for financial counseling services has never been greater. “According to the Department of Labor, disposable personal income is at an all-time high since 1980 but savings are at an all-time low. Obviously, people need help to do a better job of managing their money,” she says. “Employers who give workers the financial counseling help they need will reap the rewards of increased loyalty and satisfaction levels.”

Professional financial counseling gives individuals knowledge and skills they can use for a lifetime. With the right help, people can learn to reduce monthly bills, repair bad credit, save for a child's educational needs, plan for retirement, and much more. Another benefit of these services, from an employer's perspective, is that they cost just pennies per employee to deliver when purchased through a work/life provider such as LifeCare.

LifeCare offers its clients' employees access to financial counselors who provide up to three free 30-minute telephonic consultations per employee, per year. Counselors assist callers with credit repair, debt management and debt consolidation - the top three financial concerns among employees of LifeCare's client base. In addition, the company provides information and referrals to help individuals with budgeting basics, home buying, estate planning, retirement planning, etc.

LifeCare also offers extended and premium financial services that are more extensive such as in-person financial planning assistance, legal benefits, and discounts on fee-based services that employees might seek out on their own.