they cannot expect to achieve their desired goals and deliverables .
We live in a phenomenal era , where money is everything , people are passionate to have it , spend it indiscriminately , because materialism is No 1 , and they live for the moment and do not envisage the consequences . Employers can prevent situations from reaching an uncontrollable levels by actively engaging with employees and creating this acute awareness .
The rate of indebtedness today is possibly around 90 per cent of people in the world , so the ratio is extremely high and most spend money they don ’ t have and have not yet earned . Workplaces are no longer just business venues where we spend our day meeting our employment obligations , rather many are overloaded with personal debt problems they are spending an entire day to action , without a positive result , impacting on their companies ’ performance .
Personal situations in its massive form now also presents itself , together with the employees in the work place and unless drastic measures are taken , nobody will have the opportunity to be enlightened of the havoc debt can cause in anyone ’ s life . Life today is trying our hardest to achieve the best life we can get and live it to the fullest .
Employee debt impacts employers negatively
It is no doubt that over-indebted employee ’ s desperate for a way to make ends meet are often subject to reckless agreements by unscrupulous lenders , or tempted by theft or bribery . Furthermore when things become really tight and salary increase demands become viral , labor unrest often results , affecting productivity and the bottom line of the company . You may be wondering are there signs or indicators of over-indebted employees ?
Here are some signs that your employees may be suffering from too much debt :
• The notable increased attachment orders on employee salaries ( plus increased payroll admin )
• Cases of demands for higher salary increases
Creditors often call late payers at work , particularly if they cannot be reached during off-hours . The stress of dealing with these embarrassing interruptions can eat into one ’ s productivity . In addition , taking additional jobs or freelancing in order to make enough money to pay their bills can be exhausting and can negatively affect their performance on the job . And if they are losing sleep worrying about how to get out of debt that will show up in their job performance too .
• Situations like stress , illness and absenteeism
• Existence of broken relationships in the workplace
• Instances of late coming , lack of motivation and lower productivity
• In extreme cases – theft
• Increased attrition as employees search for higher paying jobs
• Increased resignations as employees attempt to get cash from provident funds
There is no gain saying in the fact that the over-indebted employees require urgent help and intervention with their credit providers to avoid legal action and to save their assets from repossession . Counseling help will come in handy is addressing these debt problems by clarifying the debt situation and drawing up plans of actions to reduce debts to sustainable levels or help employees come out of debts .
Benefit of debt-counseling for employees
There will be immediate increased cash flow for living expenses ; no more credit providers harassment at work place hence peace ; a notable improved wellbeing and reduced stress , illness and absenteeism ; and more important than not happier relationships at home and in the workplace .
Benefit of debt counseling for employers
Change resulting in improved timekeeping , increased productivity and motivation ; notably , fewer loan requests or pay advances ; decrease in theft , attrition and resignations ; and fewer demands for excessive pay increases .
Furthermore when individuals start getting on top of their debt they start to see the benefits of budgeting and start planning for future financial health . There is nothing like it ; we need to have a plan detailing the steps to avoid inevitable pitfalls that will place us in a bad situation in the future . We are in control of lives so by the same token , we must take responsibility for our actions .
Wasilwa Miriongi is a certified Credit Professional currently working as the Managing Director , Del Creder Credit Management Limited . You can engage him on this or related matters via email at : WMiriongi @ gmail . com .
66 MAL21 / 17 ISSUE