After spending more than forty hours of work each week with your colleagues, it’s possible to develop a close (but platonic) relationship with one or more of your co-workers. A “work spouse” is a phrase often used to refer to a co-worker, usually of the opposite sex, with whom one shares a special relationship or has a bond similar to those of a marriage. Similar to a “work spouse,” there is the “work best friend” with the same or opposite sex of someone they confide in on personal matters outside of work.
While there’s no clear, concrete definition of what constitutes a work spouse, according to a new survey from Zebit more than 1/3 (40 percent) of people do in fact have a work best friend. Furthermore, more than half (64 percent) said they confide in their work bestie about their financial stresses, troubles and concerns. These numbers show it’s clear that working Americans don’t only stress about finances, they talk about them at work—taking away from their productiveness and corporation’s bottom line.
By the numbers, the number one cause of stress is financial stress, with a new report flagging that 85 percent of employees have reported at least some level of financial strain. Between this and the latest study, it’s clear that it’s time for people to lessen their financial heartache that’s talked about at work and instead use their time to be more productive.
To ensure financial success and reach personal financial goals follow these three core principles from Michael Thiemann, co-founder and CEO at Zebit:
1. First, know what you want. You are you. You aren’t them. Apologies if your name is Jones, but the Joneses are lousy role models. It seems that trying to keep up with them has wrecked more budgets than any other personal finance mistake. It’s often why we find ourselves spending more than we make. How we use our money has everything to do with what we want out of life and what makes us happy. It sounds obvious, but few of us take time to think about our own goals and values that should guide us in deciding how we use our money.
2. Second, be aware. We’re just beginning to understand how our unconscious affects our decisions. Emotions, our physical state, and interactions with others influence everything we do. Psychologists and economists are creating a whole new science around why we do what we do with money. Behaviors like impulse buying and not saving money for future needs are often rooted in these influences. Before you buy something, try to figure out what’s really driving the decision. The better we understand our emotional side, the more in control of our decisions we can be.
3. Third, take responsibility. We live in a capitalist, materialistic society. Big news, right? On one hand it offers great opportunities, but on the other it presents great temptations and risks. Yes, there are laws, regulations, and Departments of this-or-that to protect us. Even so, we should look out for ourselves. Someone will always be glad to relieve us of our money. For example, a salesperson may paint a pretty picture, but there are good things and bad things about every choice we make. It’s up to us to weigh them against our needs and goals. Taking care of money matters can be wickedly complicated. No one does it perfectly. Improving our financial wellbeing isn’t magic though. There are some basic, timeless principles for thinking about finances and following them can help us make better choices. These basic principles include: manage your money for your future self, expect surprises and know how to tackle them and finally, rely on a platform like Zebit that takes the headache out of financing life expenses—from buying a new refrigerator when it breaks to financing a new TV with no interest.
Zebit is a free employee benefit that helps relieve working Americans from financial stress. Zebit is a free employee benefit that provides financial education, planning tools and a no-cost credit option.
References: Zebit and Havas Formula Independent Study, 2016, American Institute of Stress, http://www.stress.org/workplace-stress/; American Psychological Association, https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2014/stress-report.pdf