283. Why Every Business Needs To Care About Personal Finances, with Merle van den Akker

<p dir="ltr">In today's conversation, I am joined by Dr. Merle van den Akker. Merle is a behavioral scientist who has recently completed a Ph.D. at the Warwick Business School, studying the effect of different payment methods on personal finance management. She decided to leave academia to apply behavioral insights in the real world and has become a behavioral science manager at a financial well-being unit in an Australian bank. She continues to research and apply behavioral science to improve financial services and consumer (financial) well-being. Next to this, Merle is a science communicator, running the blog Money on the Mind, and the MoneyPsychologist TikTok account, where she disseminates insights from the intersection of behavioral science and personal finance. Last, to not leave academia behind fully, Merle also still teaches behavioral science as well as courses on fintech developments at top Australian universities.</p> <p dir="ltr">Merle was also a finalist for Content Person of the Year in the Habit Weekly Awards in 2022 along with myself and many other amazing content creators in the space including next week's guest who won the award last year.</p> <p dir="ltr">In today's conversation, we are talking about personal finance – both for individuals and how it applies to any business. Stress at home can impact performance at work, and there are some ways businesses can be helping their employees feel more comfortable -- and do better work -- if they are thoughtful about personal finances and what is going on in the world around them. Even if your company doesn't believe it is impacted by inflation or the massive layoffs that have been happening recently...think again. Merle and I dig in on how social media and other availability-bias- and herding-fueled messaging is impacting everyone, and what companies can be doing to help their employees to feel more secure and less stressed.</p> <h3 dir="ltr">Show Notes:</h3> <ul> <li dir="ltr">[00:42] In today's conversation, I am joined by Dr. Merle van den Akker.