Trigger alert: Gambling

Much of the HR focus in the past year has been geared towards the cost-of-living crisis and ways in which employers can help workers manage debt and overcome financial challenges. One related area that has received less attention is the financial hardship and stress caused by gambling. As a trustee for BetKnowMore, a charity that addresses gambling-related harm in UK communities, the subject is pertinent and personal to me.

Gambling is a tricky area for HR. On the one hand much of it happens outside of work and office hours, on the other it has become so prolific and normalized in our everyday lives that it makes sense to embrace is as part of our wellbeing strategies for employees. Sometimes it might be the employee themselves but often it could be a family member falling victim to gambling addiction, with very similar impacts and consequences for our workers and potentially our business.

Facts and figures

Latest figures published by the Gambling Commission estimate that 44% of UK adults participated in a gambling activity in 2022 and at least 400,000 people are experiencing ‘serious gambling harm’, with a further two million at risk (Public Health England, 2021). A YouGov survey found that as many as 7% of adults, or 3.6 million people, have been negatively affected by someone else’s gambling problem. More worrying still, one child in every secondary school class either has or risks developing a gambling problem.

To be clear, we are not saying that people should not gamble or that companies need a policy to stop it. We do, however, need to be more aware of the risks excessive gambling can pose to individuals, teams and businesses. In a world where the lines are blurring between our work and home life environments, and where smartphones are used in most transactions, it can easily find its way into work hours and the workplace. With unregulated crypto-currencies and trading platforms also now prevalent as ‘investment’ options and considered ‘high risk’ the base of potential gamblers is broadening.

Doing more to address gambling addiction

REBA’s Wellbeing Research Report 2022 highlighted respondents were aware that more needs to be done for employees when it comes to addition support. Whilst addiction now often forms part of the mental wellbeing spectrum, much of the focus historically has been on alcohol and smoking, not gambling. Emotional and mental fall-out is one obvious area of concern with broken trust, relationship breakdowns and resulting isolation and low self-esteem. There are also more tangible impacts on businesses that relate to other pillars of wellbeing including social, financial & physical : reduced motivation and productivity, increased absenteeism, tiredness and disruption to work patterns and a greater chance of staff conflict or threats to company policy, which can often lead to customer complaints or damage to reputational impact.

While gambling can affect any business, research indicates that sectors and industries with a predominance of male workers in manual, monotonous jobs are more at risk. These include building, construction, and service industries as well as driving and delivery roles.

In order to support businesses, BKM and GamCare have developed TRIC, their own four-step system for assessing and addressing gambling safety at work and in general we need to be more conscious and questioning of the potential triggers and risks, and how we can pre-empt and support.

Be aware of potential triggers

• Are gambling-related activities happening within your workplace, for example lottery syndicates or staff visits to gambling venues?
• Could employees feel pressurised into gambling activities to ‘fit in’?
• How do you support staff who are struggling with debt?
• Conversely, do you have anything in place to advise an employee with sudden access to money, through bereavement, redundancy or bonus schemes?

Ways to mitigate risk

• Are there ways you could challenge or question employees regularly borrowing money or asking for salary advances?
• Do you mitigate risk of employee fraud with financial controls or checks on transactions?
• Could you use site-blocking software, for example Gamban?

Pre-empt and support

• Could you do more to offer confidential, impartial support and advice for employees?
• Do line managers feel confident to hold wellbeing check-ins, including with staff who work from home?
• How does gambling impact your neurodiversity, diversity, and equality policies? Employees may feel pressured to participate in gambling activities that conflict with personal abilities, beliefs, and attitudes.
• Are you communicating effectively? One of the biggest challenges we face is ensuring our employees know what wellbeing support is available. Think about how you communicate your wellbeing proposition focusing on the frequency, media used and accessibility to all.

Fundamentally, to tackle this issue we need to build awareness and resilience into our wellbeing propositions so that, as employers, we show an appropriate duty of care and mitigate the risks that gambling poses across the board. We are starting to see increased prevalence of early pay schemes or same day pay, all of which can add greatly to our financial propositions, when used responsibly. But if gambling debt is a problem for staff or their loved ones, access to these types of schemes can only exacerbate problems.

If gambling addiction is factored into our wider wellbeing strategies, we can support those in direct need while also educating and raising awareness across the board. In debt awareness week, I urge you to look beyond your standard focus and consider this and other factors creating debt issues.

If you need help, information or advice please contact BetKnowMore UK or GamCare.

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