Demand for financial advice surges for time-pressed City workers
Time-pressed City workers often lack confidence in their financial situation and businesses, including law firms are seeking external financial advice to help.
Lawyers and many professionals have cited time pressure as one of the reasons they struggle to cope with the growing issues of financial stress, including concerns about retirement planning, home affordability, and family expenses.
Speaking to CityAM, Ruth Handcock, CEO of Octopus Money, explained, “Money stress is universal; it almost doesn’t matter what profession you’re in or how much you earn money, stress runs through everyone because things change for people all of the time.”
Octopus Money, which offers financial guidance to business staff, has partnered with over 250 workplaces, including nine law firms, such as Simmons & Simmons, Osborne Clarke, and Fieldfisher.
Just last week, UK law firm Burges Salmon partnered with Octopus Money to provide financial advice to its 1,200 staff base. Since launching its initiative, nearly 30 per cent of staff from the law firm booked time with a money expert.
“If anyone ever tells you that professional people have got this covered, for me, that’s the stat that proves they don’t and prove they want to speak to someone who’s an expert and who can help them figure out the right plan for them,” stated Handcock.
The new employee benefit
Two-fifths of employees believe that money worries affect work performance by causing increased stress levels, according to research by the Reward and Employee Benefits Association.
Handcock said: “The thing you find in law firms, above others, is that sometimes people feel a little bit more reticent about asking for help because they’re in a professional role.”
“The powerful thing that a leader can do in a workplace is saying we don’t expect you to know this stuff; you may be a lawyer, but this isn’t your day job’, and getting help is something we would encourage you to do,” she added.
She also pointed out that the demand for financial wellness programmes is increasing across all professional services sectors due to the benefits they offer in terms of talent retention and employee well-being.
This comes as many recruiters and insurers told CityAM last year that businesses are increasingly offering private healthcare insurance as an employee benefit due to NHS delays resulting in increased sick days.