Close to half of Irish workers are suffering from financial stress, according to a new workplace study. 

SD Worx surveyed a thousand workers and found that one third of employees do not believe their company cares about their financial wellbeing.

Data also showed that while the cost of living continues to rise, 23% of those questioned said they would rather leave their job if they were not satisfied with their finances and job security.

SD Worx’s Eimear Byrne said the findings should serve as a wakeup call for HR across the country. 

“The stark statistic that stands out is that nearly half of employees say that they’re suffering from financial stress,” Ms Byrne said. 

“We look a little bit further into that and we can see that a third of employees feel that their organisations have no concern for their financial wellbeing. 

“So, it seems there is a lot of improvement that can be done there in just salary management between HR and payroll staff.” 

Cost of living crisis

Ms Byrne said it was clear the impact of the cost of living crisis was still being felt by many people. 

“41% of employees feel that they weren’t adequately compensated for inflation,” she said. 

“In their mind then, their salary is decreasing because they’ve had such significant inflation over the last few years. 

“So, it’s something companies need to be mindful [when] building into their budgets and forecasts.”

Inflation is set to continue to drop and is forecast to average out at 1.9% in 2024.

Main image: Stressed woman at desk. Image: Kateryna Onyshchuk / Alamy Stock Photo