The other day, I had an employee and their boss come and see me.  The boss had been worried about her employee missing a lot of work, and all her leave and sick leave was used up. After the boss had a discussion with the employee, she admitted that the reason that she didn’t come to work some days because she didn’t have any money and couldn’t afford to get to work.

This is an extreme example, but at any place of work, I can guarantee you, there are people in similar situations.  They might be getting to work, but are they concentrating on their work or are they just sick with worry about their financial situation?

If any of your employees are worried about their finances, do you think that they are doing a full day’s work, or do you think they are giving the work the attention and care that you would like them to?

What can you do about financial stress in the workplace

What can you do if someone that works for you or with you is in this situation?

Often it’s a budget issue. Sometimes, too much money is being spent on unnecessary things and not enough money is being kept aside for transport to work and back towards the end of the month.

It could be that their spouse has lost their job or is earning a smaller salary, and now they cannot make their money last for the whole month.

Sometimes it’s plain and simple - too much debt. In this case, people often take another loan because it helps them out for the next few months. This loan gets their monthly installment up to date and the creditors stop phoning them to hassle them for money all the time.

But… it’s only a temporary solution,

When that money is finished, you will need to find money to pay all the other debt plus the new loan.

This is how people get into the debt trap. And once you are in the debt trap, it’s very hard to get out without help.

Sooner or later you can’t get any more loans. Creditors look at your other debt and say, and if you have too much debt, they will refuse your loan and then you do not have any money left to pay of your debts.

Read more: 50 signs and symptoms of stress

Another situation, and one that I see all the time, is where the employee has so many deductions from their salary like garnishees and admin orders that they are very dissatisfied with the amount they take home every month. Very often these deductions should have stopped long ago, or the place that did the admin order has gone out of business and their creditors are not even getting paid.  We often deal with these situations, and we investigate all the deductions. Maybe these deductions are all justified, but then at least you know exactly what the situation is.

Very often, if you approach people who have issued a garnishee order, they will reduce the amount if we explain that the employee’s financial situation is bad and they can’t afford the basics.

If your employee is in a similar situation, then you have a very unproductive, unfocused and unmotivated employee. If you care about your employees, and they are prepared to confide in you, then maybe it’s time to get some professional help.

Read more: How to get debt free

As Debt Counsellors, we see these situations every day and at RD Debt Counselling we will discuss your situation and talk to you about the best way forward. We’ll also tell you whether debt counselling is the answer or if they need to budget better. Always go to someone who will give you an honest assessment and see if the situation can be sorted out.

Read more: How do I know if I need debt counselling

Often employees don’t want to talk about the situation, but if you have some sort of wellness program, where employees are given talks or information, even if it is just a notice board with the names of people that can be contacted in different situations, the employee can phone them and ask for help.

In the interests of happy and productive employees and a more profitable business for yourself, perhaps it’s time to start paying attention to the financial wellness of your employees.

If you have an employee in a similar situation, contact RD Debt Counselling today. We will spend some time with the employee, discuss their finances and decide on the best way forward. Don’t let bad debt influence your work, get help today.