You might think that your debt problems only affect your home life – they’re the thing you worry about when you get home and try to sleep… However, your money problems can affect your work life too, lowering your reputation and even barring you from some roles or industries.
Your money problems are right there with you on your commute
Heavy debts don’t just affect your personal life, your relationships and your sleep patterns, it can cause serious issues at work too. It can put up barriers to certain roles, or lower your employer’s opinion of you and your suitability for promotion. Having debts can really be a challenge at work, which is why a debt management plan can help you to get back on track both professionally and financially.
You could have an attachment of earnings order
If you ignore your debts for too long, your creditors can apply for an Attachment of Earnings order on your salary to recoup the money. This presents several problems – you lose money at source, and your employer knows way too much about you. The payroll department at your job has extra work on its plate too, as it needs to arrange your deductions, keep track of them and forward the payments to your creditors or end up in legal hot water themselves. You can imagine how popular that will make you… Of course, the payroll department will be discreet, but you’ll know that they know. Plus, your employer won’t trust you or see you as responsible.
Debts can affect your productivity
One thing that can happen is that creditors call debtors at work – either on their mobiles or on company phones – if they can’t get hold of them any other way. Not only is it excruciatingly embarrassing, but it’s also an interruption and it bombs productivity. If you’re taking on extra work or freelancing to keep up with your expenses, then you’ll be distracted and exhausted. You’ll almost certainly be suffering from sleep deprivation as well; this won’t help you in your day job.
Some debt collectors might contact your employer
This is actually against data protection law, but the more unscrupulous debt collectors may try to contact your employer, or at least threaten to. Just the worry is enough to make your working day a nightmare and even if the collector is breaking the law, once the cat’s out of the bag, your standing at work is lowered. If you can’t manage the responsibility of your own finances, then how can you be trusted with managing projects and budgets?
Debt could stop you getting a new job or bar you from a career
Some industries conduct financial checks on candidates and so if you’re dogged by a history of late payments, financial arrangements, County Court judgments and defaults then this may effectively hand the job to the other guy. In some sectors, especially financial fields, then a poor credit history will mean you won’t be able to take job applications through to the final stages.
