Female employees most likely to be suffering from financial stress

The rising cost of living is creating far more financial stress for female employees than their male counterparts, new research from Mintago has found.

The financial wellbeing platform surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,333 UK adults in full- or part-time work. It found that almost one in two (48%) female employees are either ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ stressed, while less than a third (31%) of male employees said the same.

When asked about the factors that were contributing to their stress levels, 69% of female employees cited the rising cost of living is their top concern. Only 52% of male employees selected this. General money or financial worries were the second most common source of stress for both men (48%) and women (65%), with again female employees far more likely to have this playing on their minds.

Further down the list of stress factors, however, the survey found that men (24%) were more stressed about their job security than women (19%).

In Mintago’s research, UK employees were asked to select the factors that were potentially contributing to their stress in the current climate.

Rachele Carraro, financial wellbeing expert at Mintago, said: “These startling figures demonstrate just how vital it is that employers engage with their employees with regard to their finances and wellbeing, particularly those who face societal disadvantages.

“Without taking the time to create an open dialogue with employees and ensure robust financial wellbeing support is in place, injustices like gender inequality risk slipping through the cracks. The longer this additional financial burden upon women continues without recourse, the more profound the issue will become.

Chieu Cao, CEO of Mintago, added: “The gender pay gap is common knowledge, and our new research underlines the impact this has on people’s wellbeing, with women far more stressed than men during the cost-of-living crisis. Inflation remains sky-high, so money worries will not dissipate any time soon.

“Employers cannot underestimate the impact of money worries on their employees’ wellbeing. So, they should take action to ensure their entire workforce are getting the support they need. This means giving staff the tools – such as financial education, interactive pension dashboards or access to financial advisers – they need to navigate what continues to be an extremely challenging economic climate.”