I’m conflicted on this topic. My employees are financially reckless and have the poor mentality.
Every time I pay out their paycheck, I hear them saying thank god they can pay off their Klarna and credit card debt from shopping online. They showed me the gifts they got their children for Christmas, they are not rich and they spent more on gifts than rich families do. They bought designer bags for their family…my mom would be pissed if I bought her an expensive bag.
I don’t understand these people. They seem to not understand their mentality will keep them poor and their kids poor. I tried to explain that maybe they should start a college fund for their kids can go to Uni instead but they don’t seem to think it’s their responsibility to do that for them. And they don’t think they should push their kids to Uni.
They barely save and don’t invest. I tried to explain how inflation was a decades high 5% this year in the UK and they don’t seem to understand why that’s an issue.
Am I supposed to help them and give them some guidance or something? I’m really worried about them. And I’m also concerned bad financial choices will interfere with their work as it’s definitely an added stressor.
Unlike certain western countries, college is relatively cheap. The poor mentality may stem from the fact that Taiwan is/was poor not too long ago. Taiwan transitioned from an agricultural society to a more modern one not too long ago.
Should an employer care about their employees personal financial well-being?
In an ideal world, I would certainly hope so. Helps retain talent that domestic companies seem to lack the foresight.
Your company prospers because your employee made it so, if employees have a problem, the company have a problem.
However in a free country you can only do so much but my suggestion is some kind of 401k type deal where a portion of their paycheck is withheld to save for them for a rainy day. So if they do get in trouble the company can bail them out. Last thing a company needs is employees in serious trouble and unable to do their job to the best of their ability.
One of my biggest struggles in the business besides the threat of another lockdown is how to manage employees. It’s a new business, it’s my first time as an employer.
I tried to be too friendly with them, now I think it’s a mistake. They keep making the same mistakes with mis packing. I don’t think they take it as seriously and it’s getting worse.
I pay them way more than min wage 11GBP a hour when min wage is like 8 something. They mostly pack for my E-commerce, a min wage job. I’ve been teaching them to use Microsoft office so they can learn new skills. I feel like they now feel entitled.
It’s like the least stressful job I can think of. I basically took all the BS I hated working in the professional world and removed them as much as I can. No stupid interviews and wanting to see their degrees. I just wanted a good attitude and a willingness to learn from me.
They literally called a meeting about how I’m giving them anxiety. I am shocked. It’s like the least stressful job I can think of, they mostly pack items into a box. There’s no quotas or sales targets. They just pack mostly and do some social media.
It’s giving me serious thoughts about the new year when I open up shop again. Idk if I should just get real serious if giving them the carrot is not working so well.
I’m not sure if I should hire someone to give them financial advice and planning. I can, I have connections in that industry.
I am working on a pension, I was transitioning them to a full time contract where there is pension. But one of them seemed to wanted to use her right to opt out.
I’m just not really sure if it’s any of my business and if it’s added conflict if they take it as me trying to tell them what to do with their money. But it’s painful for me to see them make bad financial choices that will keep them poor and their kids poor.
And a 600 PS5 for her bf. It’s more than their weekly wage. I don’t understand why they feel like they need to spend this much on gifts when they don’t make that kind of money.
I’d say that’s none of your business as their boss unless you’re running a bank / casino / … and/or they’re handling company / customer money on a regular basis.
I mean you think you know it better than them - but to them it might feel you’re trying to tell them how to live their lives. And most employees don’t like that.