It’s Not Too Late for These New Year’s Resolutions

I was recently reading a Career Builder survey that showed the top employee New Year’s resolutions. There were five outlined and I’ll share them here, but first let me ask you this. April is almost coming to an end, so how are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions? Are your plans still on track? Do you even remember what they were?

A study from the University of Scranton found that only 8 percent of us keep our resolutions, and that could explain why we get so frustrated starting best laid plans over and over again. Those diet, workout and savings plans don’t always go as we would like, and that often leads to stress. I see this when I visit companies and speak to groups of employees. They tell me about their savings goals and the struggles they have sticking to a program. The good news is that we can help to get employees back on track, especially with their savings plans.

Here are the top five New Year’s work resolutions cited in the CareerBuilder survey:

• Save more of my pay – 42%
• Be less stressed – 34%
• Get a raise or promotion – 26%
• Eat healthier at work – 25%
• Learn something new (take more courses, training, seminars, etc.) – 22%

Studies show repeatedly that those first two go hand-in-hand. Employees are stressed about their savings, their retirement, and their bills. When that happens, their stress levels jump. And when that happens, employers often find absenteeism, lack of focus on work, and mistakes on the job.

I have a solution for you and your employees. It doesn’t cost anything. There is no agenda attached. Here’s the deal. Schedule a no-cost Lunch and Learn personal finance program for your employees. We offer this financial education to help people manage their money. We come to your workplace with a free lunch and, in less than an hour, teach a course on personal finance. Some of our topics include buying a home, deciphering a credit report, and understanding Social Security benefits.

We find that people genuinely enjoy these free courses. Because we are a nonprofit group with no agenda to sell products, attendees feel comfortable asking questions. They leave inspired and empowered.

What’s more, they leave with a plan to achieve those first two New Year’s work resolutions. And that might lead to achieving the third, fourth and fifth.

We still have a long way to go in 2016. Let’s take the time to achieve some of these resolutions together. Contact me for more information.