How Helpr Can Contribute to Employees' Financial Wellness

Worry that finances is one of the major sources of stress—just ask the 90% of Americans who say that money impacts their stress levels, according to a survey from Thriving Wallet, as reported by CNBC.

Stress and anxiety related to money has a big impact on people’s future goals and the major events they plan in their lives, influencing everything from buying a home to purchasing groceries, getting married, and having or adopting children, according to the adults surveyed. 

The takeaway is that financial wellness is wellness. Debt contributes to and exacerbates mental health problems, according to the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. Unfortunately, the stigma surrounding debt, notes the organization, decreases the likelihood that people will ask for help. This stress affects physical health, too, and is associated with increased risk of experiencing physical pain and heart disease, notes a study in PLOS Medicine; overall financial wellness is a determinant of health, the researchers concluded. 

In 2018, 53% of U.S. adults said that thinking about their finances makes them anxious, according to a 2021 report from the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center and FINRA Investor Education Foundation. And that was before the pandemic. 

Now that you know how important building financial wellness is, know that you don’t have to go it alone. Your employer may offer financial wellness benefits, such as providing financial education information or even coaching, financial planning, and debt counseling, as well as 401(k) matching, a 529 plan, and partial reimbursement for childcare costs. If you’re unsure about what comes in your financial benefit package and if you’re taking advantage of all that’s offered to you, talk to your employee benefits advisor.

While those may be biggies, don’t discount smaller, everyday benefits that can make a real difference in your overall financial wellness, as well as peace of mind. That’s where benefits like Helpr, which support working families with in-home care for adults and children, come in. 

Care, whether you’re sending children to daycare, hiring a nanny, or booking the occasional babysitter, is extremely expensive. No one wants to feel as if they’re working solely to afford to send their child to daycare or can’t take time out for themselves or to be with their partner because a babysitter is out of the question. And no parent wants to sit around dreaming of days in the future when the enormous daycare bills will be over—you want to be able to enjoy your kids at every age, not rush them through growing up. 

Aside from expense, it’s an imperfect system. You won’t feel fully supported by whatever care plan you have in place. Because as a parent, you will experience gaps in that care. And for completely understandable reasons. Someone will get sick, daycare will close for a week-long spring break (yep, some do), and there will be holidays where school is out. And, you’re left trying to navigate the challenges of working from home with children who, let’s be honest, aren’t exactly thrilled by your line-up of meetings today. And, it’s an extra expense that you may not have anticipated.

Helpr is designed to fill those gaps by connecting you with a verified caregiver on short notice 24/7. Even better? If your employer uses Helpr as part of their benefit package, you’ll also get subsidized rates via copay. Parents end up paying just $0 to $6 per hour for in-home childcare during gap days, days where a heavy workload means you’re at your desk pulling overtime, or when you have to travel with your children for a conference.

With those savings—up to 60% on the going rate of care (and sometimes $0)—you’ll be able to complete your work without the added financial stress about shelling out to pay extra for childcare.

When you feel supported as a parent, you get more out of your job, something that helps you succeed and drive forward with your career goals. In fact, according to Helpr, care benefits like these help boost productivity. They can also make you happier at your job and more likely to want to stick with your current company so that, overtime, you can build that financial wellness and security that’s so central to feeling good, inside and out, each day.