According to the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, people with debt are three times more likely to experience suicidal intensity because of the debt. A study by Northwestern Mutual found that 44% of Americans states that financial worries were their #1 stressor, with about one in four stating like they felt depressed about money at least once a month.
Sometimes improving your mental health looks like going to a therapist; sometimes it looks like going to a financial mentor. What most people don’t realize is that many Employee Assistance Programs (“EAP”) have financial counseling services for this reason.
In this episode, I speak with Robert Khachatryan about financial wellness and its connection to mental health. He shares these take-aways for employers and leaders in the workplace:
Provide the tools for financial preventative care.
Create a financially safe space.
About Robert Khachatryan
Robert started his life wanting to become an astronaut and went to school for astrophysics, but as he grew in his career and life experiences, he realized that the human connection is what makes him happy, not going to space. Now, he works to connect people who need support with people who are actually good at it. He runs a company called Vector Goals where they help companies with retention and productivity through one-on-one coaching and classes on financial wellness and professional/personal development. What he’s learned — and what GenZ is teaching leaders — is that human connection matters at work. When employers care about the workers, workers tend to stay and commit more to them.
Show Notes
About Robert and Vector Goals
https://www.linkedin.com/company/vector-goals/
“We help people, help people. We help your employees learn how to better their personal and professional lives so they can do more and feel more connected to their work and organization. We help improve productivity and retention by looking at the whole person and guiding them to where they want to go. This leads to a happier and more engaged employee, which leads to happier workplaces.”
About Financial Wellness
ARTICLE: Financial Wellness https://www.annuity.org/personal-finance/financial-wellness/
ARTICLE: 2022 PwC employee financial wellness survey https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/business-transformation/library/assets/pwc-2022-employee-financial-wellness-survey-results.pdf
ARTICLE: Bankrate’s 2023 annual emergency savings report https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/emergency-savings-report/
Financial Wellness Tools
Debtors Anonymous https://debtorsanonymous.org/
Business Debtors Anonymous https://debtorsanonymous.org/getting-started/business-debtors-anonymous/
Nonprofit free resource for Financial Coaching - https://operationhope.org/
Nonprofit free resource for getting out of debt - https://www.nfcc.org/
Nonprofit free resource for financial support - https://credit.org/
US Government's Money Smart program - https://www.fdic.gov/resources/consumers/money-smart/index.html
