When we talk about financial wellness in South Africa, the conversation often drifts toward familiar territory: budgeting, debt, savings, maybe even retirement planning if things are going well. But those ideas usually centre on people who work behind desks, with access to HR teams, online portals, and structured benefits. The reality looks very different for the millions of frontline workers who keep the country running long before most office workers start their day.
They are the security guards standing watch at 4am, the retail packers stocking shelves in the quiet hours, the cleaners and sanitation teams who prepare our public spaces before anyone arrives. And right now, they’re under immense pressure.
According to Jem’s Deskless Worker Pulse 2025, half of South Africa’s deskless workforce has no savings at all. Even more striking is that 73% have less than R500 saved, and nearly 48% run out of money before the month ends, a cycle that repeats itself 12 times a year without fail.
These aren’t anonymised figures. They represent people employers know, greet, rely on, and depend on every single day.
The unseen toll of doing essential work
The Pulse report’s findings come from interviews with 4,600 workers across security, retail, hygiene, logistics and sanitation, and they paint a sobering picture of life on the frontline. Deskless workers earn between R4,000 and R10,000 a month, yet they demonstrate remarkable resolve. In fact, 97% say they enjoy their jobs, and 39% say they feel purposeful in the work they do, even as living costs continue to rise.
Still, resilience doesn’t pay for groceries. And purpose doesn’t stretch a shrinking paycheque.
Transport is a particular source of strain. For 30% of workers, it is their single biggest stressor, not only because it’s expensive, but also because it is unreliable and unsafe. Workers often leave home long before sunrise, arriving at work already exhausted. A missed taxi can mean a docked shift, and a delayed bus can mean a missed meal. Some even spend more on transport in a month than they can realistically afford.
When you combine this with rising food prices and stagnant wages, the financial margin for error becomes razor thin.
No backup, no breathing room
For workers living with no savings, even a small disruption like a sprained ankle, a sick child, or a delayed payment can trigger a financial crisis. There’s no emergency fund to lean on, no buffer to help them recover and no room to manoeuvre.
Imagine losing a week of income on a salary of R6,000. Rent becomes uncertain. Groceries become a negotiation. Transport becomes a stress calculation. One unexpected blow can unravel an entire household’s stability.
This is the lived reality for millions, and it shows just how important financial protection is for workers who cannot simply “work from home” when life gets difficult.
Why employer-backed protection matters
There’s a growing recognition among forward-thinking employers that protecting workers isn’t just compassionate - it’s strategic. When employees feel financially secure, they show up with more focus, more energy, and more loyalty. Financial stress reduces productivity, increases absenteeism, and pushes workers toward debt traps that make it harder to stay afloat.
But beyond the obvious business benefits, there’s a deeper social truth: income protection is dignity protection.
For a worker with no savings, even a modest level of life or disability cover can change everything. A family can stay housed after the death of a breadwinner, children can remain in school and critical medication can be bought. A disabled worker can support their household through recovery.
The difference between having protection and having none is not abstract. It is the difference between stability and collapse.
Small contributions can create big change
This is where Simply’s Flexi Staff Cover has been designed to make a meaningful, practical difference. Many workers already have funeral cover through community structures like stokvels or burial societies, but far fewer have life or disability protection - the forms of cover that safeguard a household long after a funeral is over and the visitors have left.
By bundling funeral, life, and disability cover into one flexible product, employers can give their workers a layered safety net that is affordable, accessible and easy to manage. Funeral cover offers immediate support during a loss. Life cover replaces income so families aren’t left destitute. Disability cover ensures financial stability when an injury or illness prevents someone from working.
This approach doesn’t require employers to overhaul their payroll systems or break their budgets. But it does allow them to step into a role that is increasingly critical in a country where millions of workers are financially exposed.
A crisis bigger than individuals and a solution bigger than charity
The Deskless Worker Pulse makes one thing abundantly clear: frontline workers cannot save their way out of the cost-of-living crisis. Their salaries do not allow it. Their expenses are unavoidable, and their ability to cushion themselves against shocks is almost zero.
This means employers - especially those who rely heavily on deskless labour - are uniquely positioned to drive real, long-term change. Not through once-off interventions or emergency assistance, but through structured, predictable protection that shields workers from life’s harshest blows.
Deskless workers keep the country’s wheels turning. They guard our buildings, deliver our goods, clean our public spaces, and support our customers. They do essential work with dignity and purpose. But dignity alone cannot offset vulnerability.
Financial protection is not a luxury. It is a foundation. And when employers offer it (even in small increments), they help build a stronger workforce, a more resilient business, and a more stable community.
Because ultimately, protecting workers is not only about today’s paycheque. It’s about tomorrow’s security, and the families who depend on them long after the workday ends.
Simply is an authorised FSP 47146. Hollard Life Assurance Company Limited (Reg No. 1952/003004/06), a Licensed Life Insurer and an authorised Financial Services Provider. Terms and conditions apply.
