Half of workers relying on credit since pandemic

5th October 2020

More than 40% of workers are relying on at least one new loan, credit card or overdraft in order to make ends meet, according to new research by Hastee.

Over a third of those surveyed said they were being even more cautious with their cash every month, while 27% needed to sacrifice essential purchases due to a lack of available cash.

Hastee’s Workplace Wellbeing Study, which surveyed 2,000 people, also found that a third of respondents now have trouble sleeping due to money worries and two-thirds have changed their spending habits due to the coronavirus pandemic.

These changes include shopping fewer times a month (35%) and spending less on luxuries (39%).

Meanwhile, some 40% are regularly applying for high-cost credit options that they are struggling to pay back, and another 27% of workers, aged 18 to 24, never clear their personal debts every month.

A fifth of young people have relied on loans from friends and family between pay days. In some cases, this age group is regularly going without basic food or meals (16%) and heating (8%) to make ends meet.

Hastee CEO James Herbert. said “Our research has demonstrated the scale of the financial burdens being faced by British workers in 2020, which have only been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic in recent months.”