A significant number of employees admit that their workplace performance has been eroded by the stress of their personal financial situation, a report from the Canadian Payroll Association says.

Association president Peter Tzanetakis said the annual survey paid increased attention to how much time Canadian employees are distracted by their personal financial situation.

Nearly one-quarter of nearly 4,285 employed people surveyed said they agreed or strongly agreed that stress about personal finances had an impact on their performance at work with about 70 per cent indicating such matters occupy up to 30 minutes of a typical work day.

And about 43 per cent of respondents agreed that B次元官网网址漵tress related to personal finances has had an impact on my workplace performance.B次元官网网址�

The rising costs of living and overwhelming debt were among the biggest sources of stress identified by the online survey conducted by Framework Partners between April 24 and June 18.

B次元官网网址淭he key message has always been that B次元官网网址� over 40 per cent of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque,B次元官网网址� Tzanetakis said in an interview ahead of the surveyB次元官网网址檚 release Wednesday.

B次元官网网址淏ut as the survey has evolved over the years, weB次元官网网址檝e gone a little bit deeper to understand some of the sources of the financial stress B次元官网网址� and also some solutions as well.B次元官网网址�

The 2019 survey found, among other things, that 40 per cent of respondents felt B次元官网网址渙verwhelmedB次元官网网址� by their debts to some degree B次元官网网址� including nine per cent who B次元官网网址漵trongly agreedB次元官网网址� they felt that way.

Tzanetakis said, apart from the amount of debt, thereB次元官网网址檚 a concern about the nature of the debt B次元官网网址� with one in three saying they carried credit card debt, which may charge a higher rate of interest than mortgages, lines of credit or vehicle loans.

B次元官网网址淎nd four in 10 (with credit card debt) say itB次元官网网址檚 going to take more than a year to pay it off. I think thatB次元官网网址檚 whatB次元官网网址檚 leading to this feeling of being overwhelmed by debt.B次元官网网址�

The survey also found 43 per cent would have trouble if their paycheque was delayed by a week, including 13 per cent who indicated it would be B次元官网网址渧eryB次元官网网址� difficult.

About one-quarter of respondents said they spent all of their net pay from each period and nearly two-thirds of respondents said they spend less than their net pay in a typical pay period.

The survey cannot be assigned a margin of error because online polls are not considered random samples.

Tzanetakis said about 55 per cent of Canadian businesses offer to automatically move some of an employeeB次元官网网址檚 pay into a separate account to encourage savings but only about one in three Canadian employees participate.

B次元官网网址淪o thereB次元官网网址檚 still lots of room for improvement. WeB次元官网网址檙e encouraging employers to really look at that and use the expertise in their payroll departments to set up such a plan and manage it for them,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淚t really does contribute to an alleviation of some financial stress if youB次元官网网址檙e not worrying about savings as much.B次元官网网址�

The survey also found about three-quarters of respondents would be interested in general financial education programs in the workplace, including 27 per cent who said theyB次元官网网址檇 be B次元官网网址渧eryB次元官网网址� interested.

B次元官网网址淐ertainly thereB次元官网网址檚 a role for government and the educational system. B次元官网网址� WeB次元官网网址檙e just trying to raise awareness among all stakeholders at this point in time.B次元官网网址�

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The Canadian Press

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