Financial concerns can be a big source of stress for employees, affecting their health and ability to concentrate. Providing tools that support employees’ financial well-being can help alleviate their stress and increase their job satisfaction. Here are some business practices that can support employees’ financial wellness:

  • Retirement Plans


    Retirement plans help give employees financial security, and there can also be tax advantages for both the employer and employee. There are many types of retirement plans, some of which allow the employee to direct investments to fit their personal preferences. Employer contributions are tax-deductible, and some employee contributions can reduce taxable income.

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  • Cafeteria & Flex Spending Plans


    A Cafeteria Plan allows employees to use pre-tax earnings for qualified health and dependent care expenses.

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  • Child Care Support


    Employees who are balancing child care and work face challenges that can result in absenteeism, tardiness and distractions at work. Access and affordability are child care challenges across the state, with a large percentage of Vermont children needing care so their parent or parents can work.

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  • Housing


    For businesses, housing can be one of the biggest barriers to recruiting employees, and for many employees, the lack of affordable housing is a barrier to getting and keeping a job. Here are a few ways that employers have helped with employee housing:

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  • Employee Loans


    Some loans for emergencies or other needs do not affect the organizational cash flow at all.

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  • Professional Development


    Providing professional development helps employees upgrade skills for future internal promotions or other financially helpful career moves. The training may also help when coworkers need to take on additional responsibilities during employees’ personal leave times and may retain your workforce, with greater ability to promote from within.

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  • Remote Work


    When you allow employees to work off-site for free: at a library, coffee shop, home or at a friend’s home, or pay for shared office space off-site, it can help reduce employee travel expenses (and reduce environmental impact through less need for employee/customer travel for commuting or meetings). It can sometimes help with dependent care expenses, as well.

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  • Free Parking


    Providing parking vouchers or free parking spaces can help reduce employee expenses and give employees more personal time (for child/dependent care drop-off/pick-up, for exercise, for shared family schedules).

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  • Flexible Dress Guidelines


    When you provide clear workplace attire guidelines that are as flexible as possible, you are accommodating different employees’ budgets as well as their needs, religions and preferences in terms of attire and body art.

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  • Use of Organization Shop/Tools/Equipment/Space/Computers, etc.


    Allowing employees to use equipment (e.g., phones, computers or printers) for personal use can help employees who might not otherwise have access to the equipment.

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  • Employee Ownership & Profit-Sharing


    There are many reasons why some companies choose a strategy that involves either employee ownership or profit-sharing. Some employers find that these practices can help attract and retain employees, give employees a sense of entrepreneurial motivation or a more complete type of compensation for their work.

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Also see Employee Benefits and Employee Ownership & Profit-Sharing sections.