WHY CYBER SAFETY DRIVES EMPLOYEE WELLNESS: HOW PEOS CAN HELP PROTECT PEOPLE AND PRODUCTIVITY

Identity theft isn’t just an IT concern anymore. It’s one of the most urgent employee wellness challenges companies face today.

Two out of three employees are already worried about becoming the victim of a scam before they even start work. And when identity theft strikes, the impact can be devastating for them as well as the organization they work for. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that it can take approximately six months and 200 hours of work to recover from an identity theft.

For small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), that disruption doesn’t just hurt employees—it ripples across entire teams. Lost time. Emotional strain. HR and manager involvement. Productivity stalls. Morale dips.

But there’s good news: PEOs are in a unique position to help. By integrating identity protection into benefits packages, PEOs can offer a proactive, wellness-focused solution to a very modern problem. And when employees are protected at home, they’re more present at work.

THE NEW LINK BETWEEN CYBER SAFETY AND MENTAL HEALTH

With hybrid work now becoming the norm and personal devices used for business tasks, digital boundaries are blurrier than ever. That means cyberthreats—phishing, scams, account takeovers—don’t stay “at home.” They follow employees into the office in the form of distraction, emotional exhaustion, and even absenteeism.

The toll is real. Victims often feel shame, fear, and helplessness. One convincing scam can spark a chain reaction of anxiety, credit damage, and financial fallout. And this emotional weight doesn’t clock out at 5 p.m.

In fact, workplace distraction related to identity stress costs businesses 14 to 15 times more than health-related absenteeism. That’s a staggering impact—and a compelling call to action for benefits leaders.

FOR SMBS, THE COST IS EVEN HIGHER

When identity theft hits a small business employee, it hits hard. With leaner teams and fewer resources, there’s little room to absorb the slack. When one team member is focused on phone calls, legal disputes, or credit recovery, other employees have to pick up the burden—or work just doesn’t get done.

And unlike larger corporations with dedicated IT or legal departments, SMBs often find themselves unequipped to handle these crises. Leaders are left playing catch-up, and employees navigating personal chaos often do so alone. Identity theft isn’t just disruptive—it’s destabilizing.

WHEN IDENTITY THEFT HITS EMPLOYEES, SMBS FEEL IT FAST

Here’s the reality: 46% of all cyberattacks target businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees, and 47% of businesses with fewer than 50 employees don’t allocate any budget to cybersecurity or identity protection. And while headlines often highlight the organizational impact of cyberattacks, it’s the personal consequences for individuals who are the heart of those organizations that are often most damaging—and most overlooked.

The vulnerabilities are routine:

• Employees reuse passwords across personal and work accounts
• They use public Wi-Fi at airports or coffee shops without thinking twice
• They fall for phishing emails or spoofed messages—sometimes without ever realizing it

This is where PEOs can step in and bridge the gap. By embedding robust cyber safety benefits into standard offerings, PEOs have an opportunity to deliver recovery-ready benefits that help protect not only the individual, but the business they’re part of.

And for PEOs, it’s more than just a value-add—it’s a retention tool. Clients are increasingly looking for benefits partners who understand the evolving risks of today’s workplace and offer solutions that protect people and performance alike.

CYBER SAFETY: THE NEW CORNERSTONE OF A DIFFERENTIATED WELLNESS STRATEGY

It’s time to reframe how we talk about cyber benefits.

Identity protection is more than fraud alerts or credit monitoring. It’s a holistic solution that supports mental health, financial literacy, and overall well-being.

By offering cyber safety as a core benefit, PEOs can:

• Reduce burnout, distraction, and HR firefighting.
• Increase employee trust, retention, and productivity.
• Differentiate themselves in a competitive benefits landscape.

And most importantly, they show that they see employees as people—not just workers.

PROTECTION FOR EVERYONE—BECAUSE IDENTITY THEFT DOESN’T DISCRIMINATE

Scams don’t care about your job title. Or your department. Or your industry.

Remote workers. Hourly employees. Parents. Gen Z. Retirees returning to part-time work. They’re all targets—just in different ways.

That’s why universal access to identity protection matters. And it’s not just about protecting individuals. Many scams spread through family members and shared devices. When employees deal with fallout at home, it follows them into work.

Whether it’s a young worker who clicked the wrong link or a seasoned professional whose spouse’s identity was compromised, the effect is the same: lost focus, lost hours, and a lingering sense of vulnerability. Cyber safety can turn that chaos into confidence.

PEOs that provide all-inclusive cyber coverage aren’t just offering a benefit—they’re giving employees their time, energy, and peace of mind back.

WHAT PEOS CAN START DOING RIGHT NOW

You don’t need a massive overhaul to make a meaningful difference. Here are three simple, high-impact steps:

1. Educate your SMB clients on the business cost of identity theft—linking it to absenteeism, morale, and productivity.
2. Bundle identity protection into your wellness or EAP offerings as a core benefit—not an optional extra.
3. Provide practical tools like password managers, scam awareness training, and multi-factor authentication resources.

Each of these steps builds trust, increases client loyalty, and supports healthier, more focused teams.

CYBER WELLNESS IS THE NEW STANDARD OF CARE

The definition of “employee wellness” has evolved. It’s no longer just physical health or mental health. In today’s connected world, digital safety is personal safety.

PEOs are uniquely equipped to lead this shift. By embedding cyber protection into benefits, they can provide real peace of mind in a chaotic digital landscape—and create stronger, more resilient workplaces in the process.

Cyber safety is no longer optional. It’s the new standard of care.