Heroes of HR

How earned wage access is reshaping financial wellness, recruiting, and retention

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Payday used to be a fixed point. Now it’s a pressure point. As more employees live paycheck to paycheck, access to earned wages has become less about convenience and more about survival. This conversation digs into why financial stress shows up at work, how payroll and benefits are evolving to meet that reality, and why employers can no longer ignore the role money plays in engagement, performance, and trust.

In this episode, we talk about earned wage access, employee financial wellness, payroll integration, and the growing partnership between ZayZoon and isolved. The discussion moves from how employees actually use early wage access for basics like groceries and gas, to why instant access to money is becoming a recruiting and retention advantage, to how small fees compare to the real cost of overdrafts, payday loans, and side hustles.

Key Takeaways

  • Earned wage access gives employees access to money they have already earned, removing the artificial wait for payday. For many workers, this is not about impulse spending. It is about covering essentials and avoiding financial emergencies that spiral into bigger problems.
  • A significant portion of the workforce is financially fragile, with roughly two-thirds of Americans living paycheck to paycheck. That reality shows up in stress, distraction, absenteeism, and turnover. Financial wellness is no longer separate from workforce strategy.
  • ZayZoon’s partnership with isolved embeds earned wage access directly into payroll, making it simple for employers to offer and easy for employees to use. When financial tools live inside systems people already trust, adoption increases and friction drops.
  • The cost comparison matters. A small flat fee for accessing earned wages is materially different from overdraft fees, payday loans, or credit card interest. For many employees, earned wage access is a way to lose less money, not spend more.
  • Employers are starting to see earned wage access as a recruiting and retention lever, not just a benefit. In a market driven by instant access and flexibility, waiting two weeks for pay can feel outdated and out of touch.
  • Access to earned wages can also reduce the need for side gigs and financial scrambling. When employees are less stressed about cash flow, they show up more focused, more engaged, and more likely to stay.

    • This episode was recorded live at isolved Connect in Philadelphia, Pa. 

    The Heroes of HR podcast is a limited series sponsored by isolved. isolved is an HCM platform that modernizes HR, benefits, and payroll across Healthcare, Hospitality, Manufacturing, and more.

    Learn more about isolved: ⁠https://www.isolvedhcm.com/⁠


    Chapters

    00:00 Introduction and Context

    03:14 Understanding Earned Wage Access

    06:04 The Role of ZayZoon in Employee Financial Wellness

    09:03 Recruitment and Retention Strategies


    Guest

    Kauley Claypool: Partner Growth Manager, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kauley-claypool-03184594/

    Garth Dmyterko, Sales Development, ZayZoon

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garth-dmyterko-b6335275/


    Connect with Us

    William Tincup: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/

    Ryan Leary: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/

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    Heroes of HRBy WRKdefined Podcast Network