Dive Brief:

• A PricewaterhouseCoopers study shows that financial stress for millennials is down to 57% this year, from 64% in 2016. The reason, the study concludes, is because millennials and their finances are maturing.
• The study also found that, even with that maturity, millennials are facing the same challenges as GenXers, which includes financially supporting their aging parents while caring for their own children.
• Another finding is that stress is negatively affecting productivity in the workplace; employers are nearly five times as distracted on the job when they’re stresses by financial worries.

Dive Insight

The study found that 30% of millennials and Gen Xers are withdrawing money out of their retirement savings accounts. This could indicate that they’re becoming more cash-strapped than before, or that they don't have an understanding of why that could be problematic.

Employers will want to reverse this trend through their wellness programs. Providing employees with financial expertise on balancing their finances; getting out from under debt, much of it college-related; and saving more for retirement will boost their emotional well-being and productivity on the job.

Stressed employees are most likely to be distracted employees, leading to possible productivity and performance issues. With an increased emphasis on wellness programs, employers should consider financial wellness as part of a broader wellness strategy.