What the Research Really Shows - Lived experiences with financial wellbeing

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Most people assume they know what financial stress looks like. The research shows it's more complicated. Employees who can't get to their pay early don't simply cope. Many borrow from friends or family, some put it on a credit card and some have nowhere to turn. When employees can get to their pay early, they pick up extra shifts and are more likely to stay. That gives employers a clear signal about their workforce, and it shows up in retention and productivity.

In the third episode of The Financial Wellbeing Advantage series, Rachel Harte, Head of Impact at Hastee, is joined by Kris Fuzi, Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, and Michael Royce, Senior Policy Manager at the Money and Pensions Service. Together they share new research from Zellis, Hastee and the Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing at Aston University looking at how employees really behave and feel about money, and what it takes to move them from surviving to thriving.

From surviving to thriving

How financial wellbeing really changes over time. Employees move from surviving month to month, to securing resilience, to thriving with steady saving and long-term plans. See what holds people at each stage and what helps them move on.

Pay timing as a workforce signal

What happens when employees can get to their pay early. 48% take on extra shifts or overtime, and 64% are more likely to stay with their employer. You'll find these numbers in your workforce and finance data, not in engagement surveys.

Where employees turn without it

The hidden borrowing behind the payslip. Without flexible pay, 42% rely on friends or family, 27% use credit cards and 20% have nowhere to turn. Hear the lived experience of how employees use one tool differently at each stage of life.

Dignity, stigma and the wider toolkit

Why the same tool can feel supportive at one employer and shameful at another, and how the way you introduce it makes the difference. Plus why one in two users also use other financial wellbeing support, such as education, savings and financial health checks.