29 October 2007
Employees spend 14 hours a month socializing at work
My Budget Day asks employers to give workers time for tackling their finances.
A study* by financial protection organization, AXA, has revealed that we spend nearly 6 days of the working year – that's 14 hours a month and close to 50 minutes per day – sending text messages, e-mailing friends, visiting social networking websites, making personal phonecalls and gossiping while at work.
Give finances an hour's attention
The research comes ahead of the launch of AXA’s My Budget Day (21 November), a national program designed to encourage all UK adults to commit one hour a month to sorting out their finances.
As many UK employees seem to suffer a serious lack of motivation when it comes to spending time addressing their money matters, AXA is asking employers to help their employees kick start the program by giving them the first hour while they're at work.
It seems unlikely that most organizations will buy in to the initiative, but it's being supported by the CBI and the UK’s largest union, Unite.
Addressing corporate responsibility issues
David Fleming, a Unite national officer, commented, "This initiative is providing employees with an opportunity to help tackle a great cause of stress in the workplace – financial worries. Allowing employees to spend just one hour reviewing their finances demonstrates a commitment to corporate and social responsibility."
Allowing employees to spend an hour reviewing their finances demonstrates a commitment to corporate and social responsibility.
AXA, which is already offering its 12,000 employees a free hour to do some financial planning in the workplace is encouraging other businesses to do the same.
It has set up a dedicated “Information for Businesses” section on the My Budget Day website which provides all the details an employer needs to roll out a financial education program in their workplace.
* (TNS Research 18th – 24th September 2007).
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