Why employers can’t afford to ignore it.
It was philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau who famously said, “money can’t buy happiness,” but a lot has changed since 1750.
According to Statistics Canada’s 2023 Social Survey, 34.8 per cent of participants reported having difficulty meeting household financial needs—including transportation, housing, food, clothing and other necessary expenses—over the past 12 months despite being employed.
The Living Wage Gap
One such obstacle is obtaining a living wage. Vibrant Communities Calgary, stewards of the City of Calgary’s Enough for All poverty reduction strategy, defines a living wage as the bare minimum required to maintain a “modest standard of living,” while meeting the necessities. As of 2024, Vibrant Communities
Calgary has calculated Calgary’s living wage to $24.45/hour, which is up 3.2 per cent from 2023 alone.
“Government grants and regulations have helped life become more affordable to a degree, but many Calgarians are still struggling as housing and food costs remain high,” Vibrant Communities Calgary states in its 2024 Living Wage Report.
The Productivity Cost
Financial stress directly affects both mental and physical health. According to a survey conducted by the National Payroll Institute in 2024, a staggering 56 per cent of the 1,500 participants reported that financial stress has negatively impacted their job performance.
Nearly half of the survey pool admitted to spending at least 15 minutes a day fretting over finances at work, and 1 in 20 reporting upwards of 90 minutes. All together, National Payroll Institute estimates $53.9 billion in lost productivity that’s directly linked to poor financial well-being.
“It’s critical for Canadian employers to recognize the interplay between mental, physical and financial well-being. Stress around money and finances can lead to a host of health and productivity issues at work,” says Jennifer Elia, Head of Partnerships and Growth at Excellence Canada, a not-for-profit that consults organizations on improving quality of life for employees.
Financial stress is not a one-size-fits-all problem, and neither is its solution. Behind every statistic is a real person who’s worried about outlasting their retirement savings, struggling to keep up with rising rent, mortgages and bills, and feeling stuck on a spinning hamster wheel by a volatile economy.
Moving Beyond Taboo
“Financial stress is a leading cause of anxiety, depression, and absenteeism,” says Stacy Yanchuk Oleksy, CEO of Money Mentors. “Employees who are more settled with their finances are more productive and less likely to leave for a higher paying job.” Money Mentors is a non-profit financial counselling, financial education, and debt repayment organization serving Alberta families and workplaces.
For so long, discussing finances was considered taboo, especially at work. But as society’s understanding of mental health has evolved, so too must its understanding for all facets of wellness.
“Often the first steps are to open a conversation around financial strain, and remove any barriers to financial literacy and supportive benefits. You want your leaders modeling the behaviours and the conversations,” Elia says.
Addressing these root issues requires both systems-level and internal support to remove barriers and empower employees. Whether that shows up as allowing time off to attend financial literacy workshops, employer-subsidized tuition, RRSP matching, or simply affordable cafeteria options.
As the cost of living continues to rise, this is a wake-up call to Canadian employers and policymakers that cannot go unanswered.
