How Financial Benefits Can Renew Your Commitment With Employees

This isn’t an easy time for many employees. Financial pressures are mounting, artificial intelligence (AI) disruption looms and engagement is falling. Employees aren’t particularly eager to switch jobs right now, but that’s not because they’re thrilled with the way things are. It’s because they have deep concerns about their financial situations, and they’re worried the risks of switching jobs outweigh the benefits. But loyalty founded on anxiety isn’t loyalty at all — it’s just a flimsy transaction that could be rejected at any moment. 

While this is a precarious situation for HR teams, it’s also an opportunity to convert fickle loyalty into a long-term commitment to the organization. When employees are stressed about their finances, they find it difficult to focus on anything else. HR teams must demonstrate they’re dedicated to alleviating this stress with resources such as financial mentoring and greater flexibility in their benefits packages. 

If employees are only staying with the organization because they’re nervous about what might come next, the commitment with their employer is already breaking down. HR teams have a unique opportunity to renew this contract, and the right benefits are an essential part of this process. 

Financial Anxiety Is Taking Its Toll

There’s mounting evidence employees face significant financial hardships, which is having a severe negative impact on morale. Eighty-six percent of U.S. workers surveyed by financial services company PNC said they worry about personal finances at work, while 71% said this impacts their mental health. Earlier this year, hardship withdrawals from U.S. retirement accounts hit an all-time high, and millions of Americans rely on payday loans with high interest rates. According to a 2026 survey by consulting firm PwC, finances are by far the top source of stress for U.S. workers. 

Macroeconomic factors, from stubbornly high inflation to the uncertainty caused by tariffs and war have exacerbated financial concerns. A recent survey by consulting firm Mercer found 70% of polled U.S. workers said inflation and market volatility have increased their financial stress. Employees’ top unmet needs are covering monthly expenses, the ability to retire, job security and work-life balance. Research firm Gallup reported employees’ self-reported stress is above pre-pandemic levels, while employee engagement has fallen to just 20% in recent years. 

When reviewing this data landscape, the HR team’s response shouldn’t be the acceptance of an unsustainable status quo with their employees. While the proportion of workers actively searching for another job fell from last year, 43% said they’re still on the lookout for something new. The job-hugging trend likely won’t persist, which is why HR pros should give employees a better reason to stay. 

Employees Are Telling HR Teams What They Want

There’s no great mystery about what employees value (see WorldatWork’s 2026 State of Rewards Report for details). Employees want:

• To know that their employer prioritizes their financial well-being, which generally means offering robust and personalized support;
• A healthy workplace culture that helps them find the right work-life balance and doesn’t make them feel guilty about taking the personal time they need to recharge; and,
• The flexibility to determine what benefits work for them. 

A global survey of more than 26,000 employees by staffing agency Randstad found work-life balance surpassed pay as a top motivator. Given all the flashing red signs of employee stress and burnout, it’s no surprise workers are eager to find this balance. However, nearly two-thirds of employees said they struggle to balance the demands of work and their personal lives, and more than three-quarters said they wished their companies would be more encouraging about taking time off. Nearly a quarter of workers polled by Mercer said their workloads have increased due to layoffs and reduced hiring, a proportion that has risen since 2023. 

While heavy workloads and “always-on” workplace cultures are major engines of employee stress, financial anxiety remains the top stressor. As HR teams negotiate a healthier long-term contract with employees, addressing the drivers of pervasive financial stress in the workforce must be at the top of their to-do list. This requires them to move beyond standard benefits and explore more impactful ways to support employees. 

Rethinking Traditional Benefits

Even if HR teams succeed in shifting their workplace cultures toward more emphasis on work-life balance, financial hardships will remain. When employees feel financial stress, they’re five times more likely to be distracted at work. More than two-thirds of U.S. workers said they’re living paycheck-to-paycheck, while 78% of companies say financial stress in the workplace negatively affects their business. It’s no wonder 81% of HR leaders are concerned employees will seek other job opportunities if they don’t have better ways to manage their financial stress. 

Eighty percent of HR executives said they’ve received requests for a specific type of financial benefit that they don’t offer. The first step to closing that gap is knowing what employees actually want — something a structured benefits survey can surface quickly. This is all the more striking when 91% of employees report they would be more likely to stay with a company that offered personalized financial benefits.

It’s time for HR teams to close this gap, which means reevaluating their conventional benefits stack. One of the biggest problems with traditional paid time off (PTO), for instance, is that it’s widely underused. Many states require companies to pay out the value of unused time off upon employee separation, which is why hundreds of billions of dollars in PTO liabilities have accrued on corporate balance sheets in the U.S. 

Instead of allowing these liabilities to keep ballooning without giving employees any concrete benefit, companies can redirect the value of unused time off toward other financial goals. Employees can repurpose their unused PTO to make 401(k) contributions, set money aside in an health savings account (HSA) and/or pay off student loans. At a time when one of the top obstacles to recruiting and retaining employees is the increased cost of benefits, it’s possible to meet the employee demand for flexibility with funds that have already been allocated.

HR teams have a narrow window of opportunity to address employees’ urgent financial needs, as anxiety about job-switching and the economy isn’t a stable foundation for long-term loyalty. Now is the time to show employees that their well-being comes first, and the HR teams that do so will discover that a renewed commitment to their people goes both ways.

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics:

• Employee Benefits
• Total Rewards
• Well-Being
• Workforce Engagement