The data makes it clear. Employees need help with their money, and employers are uniquely positioned to provide that help through financial wellness benefits. Every day, employees of all kinds drag their financial baggage through the company’s front door, and that wreaks havoc on the bottom line in the form of turnover, absenteeism, lost productivity, rising health care costs and delayed retirements.

In fact, no employer or company is immune to the effects of employee financial stress. It doesn’t matter the type of employee, industry or level of payroll. But there’s good news: It doesn’t have to be that way.

Financial wellness benefits equip employees to attack their financial stress, which in turn helps the business. How? By pulling the plug on those bottom-line killers—with a financially and physically healthier workforce that shows up for work, gets more done, doesn’t job hop, and retires on time. So, it’s not just smart for employees to have a financial wellness benefit—it makes business sense for their employers to offer one.

So, what’s the final takeaway?

Financial wellness isn’t just a niche benefit. It should be an essential part of your employee benefits package. We all learned a valuable lesson this past year as a result of the pandemic: Employees need help—they need financial wellness.