Let’s Talk Money – Part 3

What’s interesting about our work as wellness professionals is that not only do we want to advocate for our own healthy salary that appropriately values our work and sustains financial well-being, but we also want to advocate for the same thing for those we serve. As with most things in this line of work, our advocacy for ourselves is intricately linked to those we serve.

What is a Livable Wage?

According to data from the MIT Livable Wage calculator, “An analysis of the living wage (as calculated in December 2021 and reflecting a compensation being offered to an individual in 2022), compiling geographically specific expenditure data for food, childcare, health care, housing, transportation, and other necessities, finds that: The living wage in the United States is $24.16 per hour, or $100,498.60 per year in 2021, before taxes for a family of four (two working adults, two children), compared to $21.54, or $89,605.51 in 2020.”⁽¹⁾ This varies by state. In a Business Insider article posted in 2021, an average livable wage in the US was listed as $67,690 per year.⁽²⁾

As we just released WELCOA’s 2023 Wellness Compensation Survey(link to report), we would be remiss if we did not discuss our role in ensuring employees have the means and income for financial well-being.

“It doesn’t matter how much financial education you provide if you aren’t paying your employees a living wage.”

How We Support Financial Well-Being

Over the past five years, we have seen an increase in financial well-being tech being built and delivered. As organizations began to offer these solutions, it became immediately clear that this service misses the mark if an employee has no disposable income to create financial security, much less leisure. In short, it doesn’t matter how much financial education you provide if you aren’t paying your employees a living wage.

The Role of Wellness Professionals in Pay Equity

Some wellness professionals may feel that this work is out of the scope of their role. Perhaps traditionally, it has been. However, at its core, our job is to understand the barriers that limit one’s ability to secure safety and well-being in their job and work to reduce those. Many of us started in the realm of promoting physical health but quickly expanded our education to address stress and psychological safety, among many other things. As for our role at WELCOA to support you, in 2022, we hosted several trainings on pay equity (link to trainings replay page), featuring experts on the topic who are leading this effort.

“Our job is to understand the barriers that limit one’s ability to secure safety and well-being in their job and work to reduce those.”

Advocating for Financial Well-Being

There are plenty of data to advocate for an audit of salaries and livable wage. Employees need an advocate within the organization to support this work. When we say that businesses will either survive or fail based on employee well-being this is what we mean. Companies that offer dignified working conditions and livable wages will continue to recruit and maintain talent. Without that talent, employers will fail.

For more detailed support to understand the financial well-being needs of your employees, WELCOA Subscribers can access the results of our 2023 Wellness Compensation Survey (link to report) on the WELCOA Platform.

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• ⁽¹⁾ https://livingwage.mit.edu/articles/99-a-calculation-of-the-living-wage#:~:text=An%20analysis%20of%20the%20living,in%20the%20United%20States%20is
• ⁽²⁾ https://www.businessinsider.com/living-wage-income-to-live-comfortably-in-every-us-state

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