Written by Cheri Salazar, CEO and Co-Founder of NestSTEPSTM 

He left a great company and promising career for a home.

Years ago, my husband was working for a Fortune 50 company. The role was meaningful. The culture was strong. The team was one he respected and enjoyed.

At the time, we were renting in California. Then an opportunity came up. New condos were being built nearby. It could have been our first home, but we passed on the opportunity. Not because we didn’t want to buy. Because we didn’t understand how. We weren’t sure we would qualify. The process felt out of reach.

Two years later, we left. He accepted a slightly higher-paying role in a more affordable market. That’s where we finally achieved homeownership.

Looking back, had we purchased the condo, we would have grown the value of that home to roughly a million dollars in equity appreciation. More importantly, we likely would have stayed. The company would have retained an engaged employee. We would have built financial stability sooner.

This isn’t a story about what his employer did wrong. In fact, that employer did everything it could at the time to keep all their employees engaged and fulfilled. Instead, the story I’m sharing is about recognizing that we all live in only one reality. There is no substantive way to separate and compartmentalize our work life from personal life. And in our case, the need and desire to achieve homeownership, drove our decisions that led to career change.

That connection and continuity of life in and outside of work, is what business leaders often overlook— leading to costly outcomes.

What Happens at Home Doesn’t Stay at Home, and Vice Versa

Having a rough day at work? It happens to all of us. And most people tell their spouse, companion or someone close about their experience, especially if something exciting happened or if they’re struggling to overcome a challenge. Conversely when someone is experiencing challenges in their personal life, it has a way of manifesting itself emotionally, mentally, and even physically throughout their day, across all activities, and wherever they are.

That’s not just conjecture. That’s backed by hard data.

According to PwC, more than 60% of employees report being financially stressed, and nearly 1 in 3 spend over 3 hours per week during work hours managing personal financial concerns.¹ In a 100-person company, that level of financial distraction can quietly erode the equivalent of 2 to 3 fulltime employees worth of productivity. Depending on average wages, that can represent well into six figures in lost productive capacity each year.

That’s substantive. But we’re just getting started.

In the personal example I shared, the impact led to a turnover. And our experience is not unique. A study in 2024 found that roughly 40 percent of today’s employees would leave their current employer for one that offered housing assistance.² That’s not just substantive. That’s detrimental.

Consider the cost of losing an employee.

The Society for Human Resource Management estimates replacement costs at 50% to 200% of an employee’s annual salary³, depending on the role.

That figure reflects recruiting, onboarding, and lost productivity. It does not fully account for what happens inside the business.

Workloads shift. Teams stretch. Output slows. Quality can decline. Institutional knowledge leaves. Morale erodes. Culture weakens. Additional turnover then follows. At the same time, employer brand takes a hit. Reviews surface on platforms like Glassdoor, making it harder to attract talent and extending hiring cycles.

Taken as whole, this is not an HR problem. It’s an operational and financial risk.

Invest in the Whole Person… Not Just the Employee Many employers

invest heavily on improving leadership, communications, processes. Some may also provide perks like stocked kitchens, ping-pong or catered lunches. These levers enhance the workplace experience to drive employee engagement, productivity and loyalty. They are designed to focus on the employee.

But to achieve stability in the workforce, the workforce must achieve stability in their lives. Because what happens at home doesn’t stay at home.And what happens at work inevitably finds its way into the home.

That’s why health insurance and retirement plans are the cornerstones of benefits—because they affect life decisions. But something else that is equally impactful is housing.

Why Housing Changes the Equation

For most people, housing is their largest expense—accounting for roughly one-third of household spending. It is also the primary way many build long-term wealth. And yet, for a significant portion of the workforce, it remains out of reach or misunderstood.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that roughly one-third of Americans are renters.4 In reality, everyone is a buyer. The only difference is whether they’re buying for themselves and building financial wellness or buying for their landlord.

If the latter, financial security will be far more difficult to achieve because their payments produce zero equity. At the same time, aspiration has not changed. Research from The Harris Poll indicates that ~8 in 10 Americans still view homeownership as essential to financial security and long-term success. 5 That gap between aspiration and access creates tension. Employees want to move forward. Many don’t know how.

The Missed Opportunity for Employers

Most employers do not see housing as part of their responsibility. But they are already paying for the consequences. Because housing is a significant component of the employee’s personal financial responsibilities, it has a direct impact on workplace productivity and engagement.

When financial security or insecurity is occupying employees’ minds, it becomes a driving factor in career decisions. At that point, risk becomes top of mind for both the employee and the employer.

The Mindshift is Also a Cost Shift

Productivity, turnovers and struggles with talent attraction do not easily appear on a balance sheet. For that reason, executives may think of housing benefits as an added expense. In reality, it’s shifting dollars away from rehiring and retraining, to investing in productive, engaged and loyal employees.

Reinforcing this concept are two well-documented case studies.

• At Fannie Mae, turnover declined from roughly 20% to single digits following the introduction of a housing assistance program.6

• At Advocate Aurora Health, employees who participated in a similar program experienced 50% to 65% lower turnover compared to non-participants.7

Today, a growing number of organizations have begun to explore housing support as a way to address the “whole” employee. Not as a perk. As a performance strategy. Because when employees have clarity and a path toward financial stability, their behavior changes.

• They are more focused.

• More engaged.

• More likely to stay.

And that changes the equation for the business.

The Leadership Imperative

This is not about adding another benefit. It’s about recognizing what actually drives performance. Leaders are accountable for outcomes. Those outcomes are driven by people. And people don’t show up as employees only. They show up as whole individuals.

When leaders invest in the person, not just the employee, something shifts. Focus improves. Engagement strengthens. Loyalty increases.

Housing is one of the clearest examples. It is the largest financial decision most employees will ever make. It shapes stability, stress, and long-term security.

When employees lack a path, that pressure shows up at work. When they have clarity and progress, it changes how they perform and how long they stay.

Ignoring that reality doesn’t remove the impact. It simply shifts the cost. The organizations that win will be the ones that understand this and act on it.

Sources:

1 PwC - Employee Financial Wellness Survey (2023–2024) https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/business-transformation/library/employee-financial-wellness-survey.html

2 JW Surety Bonds - 2024 Housing Benefits Survey (Employee sentiment on housing assistance and job decisions)

3 Society for Human Resource Management - The Myth of Replaceability: Preparing for the Loss of Key Employees https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/myth-replaceability-preparing-loss-key-employees

4 U.S. Census Bureau - Housing Vacancy Survey https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/index.html

5 The Harris Poll - Homeownership Attitudes Research (recent surveys) https://theharrispoll.com/

6 Fannie Mae - Employer Assisted Housing: A solution for companies, employees and communities https://nhc.org/employer-assisted-housing-a-solution-for-companies-employees-and-communities/

7 Advocate Aurora Health - Quantifying the Value Proposition of Employer-Assisted Housing: A Case Study of Aurora Health Care, Center for Housing Policy, 2008. https://nhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Quantifying_EAH.pdf