When your employees are struggling to make ends meet, they might turn to a common practice in modern-day America — working a second job. 13 million U.S. workers have more than one job. While this seems innocuous enough, after all, if it isn’t during your work hours who cares? The reality is that when your employees try to juggle multiple jobs at once, you lose out in a myriad of ways.
Here at IonTuition, we help businesses provide their employees with an invaluable benefit — assistance with student loan repayment. We recognize the large number of people in the workforce who struggle financially due to overwhelming amounts of student loan debt. For this reason, we created a benefits program that companies can enroll in which provides assistance with student loan repayment as well as other valuable financial tools.
Find out why ensuring your employees are financially stable enough to not work a second job is important to your company’s success and reach out today to learn more about our unique program.
Higher Rate Of Burnout
When your employee takes on a second job, the odds are much higher that they will burn themselves out faster. Whether they are fitting in an early morning job, clocking out from your workplace to go clock in elsewhere, or taking up their days off with a part-time gig, working more than 40 hours a week can quickly take a toll on someone’s mental well-being.
The end result is that you wind up with an employee who feels tired, burned out, and is on the brink of quitting at any moment. With the high cost of turnover, it is important to do your best to retain happy employees. Having one job makes it much easier to retain a balanced life.
Less Company Loyalty
How loyal are your employees? When you are their only source of income and their full vocational focus, they are much more likely to be extremely loyal to your business. When they are stretched thin between two companies, their loyalty will not be as strong.
A loyal employee will be a huge asset to your success. With loyalty comes integrity and a desire to do what is best for the company. Without loyalty, it is easier to cut corners and it is harder to care about the growth of the business.
Decreased Focus On Creativity
When someone is exhausted, their creativity wanes. If your employee is running between jobs, they are probably just doing their best to survive. They won’t be bringing their top creativity or innovation to the table.
Creativity is vital to the growth of your business. You want intelligent people on your team that can come up with innovative ideas for the future of your company. However, even the smartest person has limits when they have little time for rest or relaxation.
Greater Risk Of Illness
When we are tired and stressed, our bodies become far more prone to illness. Sickness in the workplace can lead to missed days or poor performance. Not only that, but it only takes one person who is ill to infect your whole office.
Working two jobs often means sacrificing sleep and time for exercise and healthy eating habits. This results in an employee who gets sick easily and frequently.
Prevent Employees from Working Too Many Jobs
The reality is that working multiple jobs isn’t good for your employees and it isn’t good for you. Odds are good, most employees would prefer to be dedicated to just one position. Unfortunately, finances often push someone to picking up another gig. So what can you do to prevent this problem in your workplace? The answer is a few different things.
#1: Make Sure Your Wage Is Fair
First things first, start by looking at how much you pay your employees. Are you being fair with your wages? Factor in the average pay scale for the person’s position and take into consideration the local cost of living. For example, you can pay someone a very different wage for the same job if you operate in a small town in Kansas where rent costs are low versus the same position in downtown San Francisco.
Paying a fair wage will ensure that your employees are not feeling the strain of a low-income. This can help them focus more clearly on the job at hand with less worry about how they will make ends meet.
#2: Provide Financial Counseling
In some cases, you pay a fair wage, but your employees still can’t make ends meet. This could be due to a lack of financial literacy. In some cases, employees may have never been taught how to manage money well.
This can be helped by offering financial counseling. You can bring in a financial advisor once a month to meet with employees or host classes on finances. You can offer access to financial counselors as we provide at IonTuition. Whatever approach you take, empowering your employees to use their money more wisely will go a long way in preventing the necessity of working two jobs.
#3: Offer Student Loan Repayment Options
Finally, a fair wage and even the best financial planning can only go so far when someone is straddled with copious amounts of debt. If your employees are facing the heavy burden of student loan debt, this could be the cause of their two-job lifestyle.
An excellent way to alleviate this burden is to offer student loan repayment options as part of your benefits package. By helping take care of part of these monthly bills, you can free up their finances to cover other important costs. The process is simple. We help you put together an appropriate benefits package that allows employees to opt-in for this perk. Student loan repayment is very similar to paying into a 401k but, for many employees, it is even more valuable.
Keeping your staff focused on one job can improve productivity, creativity, and loyalty to your business. Reach out today to learn more about how our student loan repayment program works at IonTuition. We look forward to helping you retain talented employees long-term.