A bad boss is worth avoiding for a plethora of reasons. They can make your working life hell, they can steal your accomplishments, fail to show any recognition, and can make you fall out of love with your career. But while you might think of soldiering on and tolerating bad behavior until you can make a more positive move, there’s one impact of the bad boss you shouldn’t tolerate: the financial kind. If you don’t acknowledge and prepare for these risks, a bad boss could genuinely get you in debt.
Not knowing your worth
It might not be enough to get you in debt by itself but being underpaid for your job can certainly contribute to it. If you have the pay to match your expenses, especially if your expenses are higher precisely because of where you live and work, you can and will fall into debt. Learn how to negotiate a higher salary and craft the most irrefutable argument that you can. If they still won’t budge an inch, take your proposal elsewhere.
What free time?
Over time, especially unpaid overtime should always be treated with some degree of caution. Sometimes, it’s a way to show your dedication to the workplace and to lend a helping hand when it’s really necessary. But the time and energy you spend adding a little more earnings could better be spent building wealth elsewhere, whether it’s budgeting to pay off existing debts, finding your side-hustle, or investing. If you want to build enough wealth to escape the prospect of debt, you can’t rely on your job alone.
Pay problems
Now we’re getting into the real issue: when a bad boss costs you money. If they are disorganized, or unable to deal with their own finances, an employer’s failures cross into your pay. Though you might get it eventually, the cost of late payroll can add up, putting you in debt, which means you lose more money in the long run. This isn’t just a small error, it’s a crime, and it’s well worth considering the help of a wage theft lawyer if it happens to you often. You might be inclined to forgive an error in pay once or twice, but when it becomes a semi-regular occurrence, you are biting the costs of your boss’s negligence.
Making you sick
Health and safety standards are still a huge concern in the workforce. Many employers are rushing to improve their own, but negligent bosses might run a workplace more inclined to make you sick or see you suffer an accident. Workplace accidents are damaging to the whole business, but that doesn’t mean you should accept the personal costs. Never turn down the opportunity to claim if you’re going to be paying for your own health care because of an injury or illness that’s your boss’s fault.
No matter how much you love the work you do or how much you want to avoid rocking the boat, you shouldn’t let anything get you in debt where you can avoid it. Protect yourself from a bad boss before they get you in trouble they won’t be there to help you with.
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