“Financial stress has traditionally been viewed as a personal issue, but our research suggests employers may be underestimating its impact on workforce performance,” Pothoven said.
“When employees are losing sleep, taking on second jobs, coming to work unwell and admitting they’re distracted by financial pressures, the effects extend far beyond their personal finances. These are factors that influence productivity, engagement, retention and overall workforce resilience.”
Pothoven said the rise of secondary income was not always about basic survival. “Every single Uber driver we spoke to, the Uber driving was their side hustle,” she said.
“One of them was an actual actuary. We know they’re not exactly poorly paid for their role, and they were still doing it. But it meant the difference between putting his kids in extracurricular activities or not.”
She said the resulting fatigue and distraction were beginning to show up as safety and performance issues – relevant to employers already grappling with high burnout levels among New Zealand staff.
What HR can practically offer
Pothoven said employers often assumed the fix required new spending. “It’s not always dollars that need to be thrown at the problem,” she said.
“Sometimes it’s actually going through the partners that you’ve already got – whether it’s an employee assistance program, your payroll provider, your banking relationship or your retirement savings scheme – and looking at how they can better support your people.”
She warned that inaction has a cost of its own. “You are going to have higher levels of absenteeism, higher levels of people being present but not present,” Pothoven said.