One in five workers (20%) avoids organising and planning their finances, with some blaming anxiety or stress about their financial situation for their failings.

The lack of personal financial management means many are taking risks with their money, a new study suggests.

People actively shying away from managing their finances could mean they are failing to pay bills or check financial statements, financial provider Aviva has warned.

The company’s Working Lives Report published today found that three-quarters (73%) of workers said the cost-of-living crisis has made them feel more anxious about their finances.

However, only 56% of employers think their staff are worried about their financial wellbeing.

That might be because people are not talking about the issue, the report said, with half of employees (50%) having not had a conversation with their current employer or line manager about their financial wellbeing.

But bosses said they encouraged employees to talk about their financial concerns, with 76% of employers stating this.

The number of employers that do not actively encourage employees to talk about their financial concerns has improved considerably, falling from a third (34%) a year ago to a fifth (21%).

The report is the company's third consecutive annual investigation into employer and employee attitudes to the workplace, finances, wellbeing, and planning for retirement.

It found that almost half of employees (49%) talk to friends or family to help cope with feelings of anxiety about their finances, but only 6% talk to colleagues or a manager and 6% talk to a financial adviser. However, 14% said they don’t have any coping mechanisms.

Emma Douglas, director of workplace savings & retirement at Aviva said: “If someone is anxious or stressed about money it’s likely to have a detrimental impact on their mental and physical health too.

“Employers are increasingly looking to offer information and a range of support services and tools designed to help improve the financial wellbeing of their people. But individuals’ needs vary hugely, so it’s important that services can be tailored to support these diverse needs: from help with bills and budgeting to retirement planning.”

• 1,011 full or part time employees aged 16+ in the private or charity sector (excluding sole traders) and 201 private sector employers (aged 18+) (excluding sole traders) were interviewed by Censuswide between 02‑16 April. All interviews were conducted online.