Money worries are forcing employees to sacrifice annual leave and work through illness

One in 10 UK employees have used their annual leave to deal with financial stress, administration or burnout rather than to rest, highlighting the growing impact of money worries on workforce health and wellbeing.

Research from financial wellbeing platform moneyappi, based on a survey of 2,002 UK adults, found that financial pressure is affecting how people work, recover and engage with colleagues, with younger employees particularly affected.

A further 12 per cent of respondents said they had delayed booking annual leave because they could not afford to take a holiday or make use of the time off.

The findings suggest financial wellbeing is increasingly becoming a workplace health issue, with employees making difficult choices that could have long-term implications for productivity, engagement and recovery.

More than one in five (22 per cent) said they had skipped lunch, coffee or other food at work to save money, making it the most common coping strategy identified by the research. Meanwhile, 21 per cent admitted working while unwell because they could not afford to take time off, while 20 per cent had avoided work social events because of the cost.

The research also found that 16 per cent had hidden financial worries from managers or colleagues, 14 per cent had looked for another job to improve their financial situation and nine per cent had avoided travelling into work because of commuting costs.

Despite these challenges, only seven per cent said they had requested a hardship loan or salary advance from their employer.

The impact was greatest among younger workers. Almost one-third (32 per cent) of employees aged 18 to 24 had skipped food or drink at work to save money, while 16 per cent had avoided commuting because of the cost.

Among employees aged 25 to 34, 23 per cent had worked while unwell rather than take sick leave, 22 per cent had looked for a better-paid job and one in five had delayed booking annual leave because they could not afford to take time off.

However, the research suggests financial stress is affecting employees across all generations. Nearly one in four employees aged 35 to 44 had concealed money worries from colleagues or managers, while 24 per cent of those aged 45 to 54 had worked while ill and the same proportion had skipped work social events because of financial pressures.

Ray Law, founder of moneyappi, said the findings show that financial stress is eroding one of the key foundations of employee wellbeing: the ability to properly switch off.

“Annual leave is supposed to be when people recover, and instead we’re seeing people use it to deal with the very thing they need to recover from,” Law said. “That’s a strong sign of how much financial stress builds up before anyone notices or asks for help.

“By the time someone requests a hardship loan, they’ve often already been skipping meals, working through illness, or using their holiday to firefight money problems for months. Prevention is always better than cure.”

The findings reinforce growing evidence that financial wellbeing should be viewed as an integral part of workplace health strategies rather than a standalone employee benefit.

With employees often choosing to cope in silence rather than seek formal support, organisations may need to place greater emphasis on proactive financial education, signposting available support and creating workplace cultures where conversations about money are treated as a legitimate wellbeing issue rather than a personal problem.