Around 2.44 million Australians are suffering from financial stress, which is draining around $31.1 billion from Aussie businesses per year, according to AMP’s Financial Wellness report.
The report found financial stress was impacting around two in five Australian workers during their careers, with employees troubled by their financial circumstances taking an extra 2.4 sick days per year, and spending almost an hour per week dealing with money problems at work.
The Financial Wellness Index revealed around five per cent of Australian workers were severely financially stressed, 14 per cent were moderately financially stressed, 35 per cent were mildly financially stressed and 46 per cent were financially secure.
The AMP study also found that women were more affected than men, with 24 per cent of women citing financial stress compared to only 14 per cent of men, and those earning between $50,000 and $74,999 were most likely to feel financially stressed.
Adelaide and Brisbane were found to be the two cities worst impacted, with 22 and 25 per cent of workers respectively reporting financial stress.
AMP director of Workplace Super, Ilaine Anderson, said January and February could be the worst months for financial stress as the holiday season’s expenses put Australians under financial pressure.
“While many people think money worries are a personal issue, our research shows being financially stressed spills into your working life, increasing absenteeism and impacting productivity,” she said.
Anderson said people with well-defined goals, flexible working hours and reducing the stigma around financial stress in the workplace could help Australians overcome it.
