The past 3 months has been a sobering experience, not only to have seen so many change controls being enforced for the safety of everyone, but also that people actually conformed to those Regulations, in spite of the uncertainty and also knowing that the outcome could have a dire impact on their income for those employed and revenue stream, for the self-employed, affecting their livelihood and those of their families.
Not to mention large Organizations where initially everyone had to adopt the ‘Work from Home’ Policy at short notice, where this one key unexpected change hit home for everyone, but it made us flip into survival mode indicating that as humans we have that inbred adaptable instinct that we really are susceptible to quick changes, that we all possess immense inner strength to adapt at short notice and that instinctively, we knew how to apply our coping methods, flexibility, collaboration and team effort capabilities, it’s like we all simply transitioned on ‘Auto’, which an amazing feat to witness.
We simply made it work, adjusted in an instance, emerged ourselves into the latest trends of communication, online video conferencing, team projects and respective assigned roles, responsibilities and tasks, online weekly team meetings, online client meetings and many more to ensure a seamless process to complete our tasks and achieve our goals and objectives, which was fantastically amazing to witness!
I don’t think anyone stopped to review…
- What just happened?
- How did we just co-ordinate so fast with the ability to reel in teams to facilitate seamless productivity and performance?
- How did we suddenly become so disciplined working from home?
- How did we suddenly embrace independent responsibility?
- How did we suddenly show more commitment than when we were working from the office?
- Where did we acquire the drive and determination to keep the wheels turning?
- How did we suddenly become so resourceful, supportive, innovative, creative and all those traits we wished we had, when we were seated in our old comfort zones at the office?
- Most of all we then embraced the new normal!
This was all human intervention at its best, but on the flip-side we have also witnessed those who lost their jobs, placed on unpaid leave, had salary reductions applied and again, we witnessed comradeship and support of those more fortunate, successful collaborating to ensure that food parcels were available for those suffering shortages, moral support was extended, free advice, borrowing of items needed for those who could not afford to purchase new, employment groups created where the newly unemployed could upload their resume’s and be afforded the opportunity to secure a new job, as I have seen Human Resource Managers and the likes all join in on social media groups to continue the support and the list continues…
So where does that leave those who have Bank and other liabilities, who either are directly affected at this time due to salary reductions or unpaid leave and then those who have been afforded time and who accepted a termination in a few months, as there are all forms of situations people are facing right now, that could inflict mental health issues and other emotional states of mind.
Before you get yourself into a knot, create your Debt Schedule with the most accurate up to date commercials, review your EMI’s at this stage and what the most suitable reduced EMI’s should be, to enable you to maintain your payment plans, with ease, until you are able to recover completely, by either waiting to return to work, or securing a new job with a higher or the same salary you were earning before. But the point is, get planning, create self-awareness and be prepared, don’t wait for the last minute, because by then you would have piled up so much anxiety, pressure and resistance, that whatever you try to do, will not work, because of your emotional state of mind.
Everyone knows that this pandemic has direly affected Business Operations and so there is a large degree of empathy and compassion, where new Regulations was announced i.e.
- a. EMI deferments for your Bank liabilities from specific banking groups – Could be 2 or 3months, so if you are regular, approach your Creditor and request consideration to approve your request, you won’t know if you don’t ask, so don’t hesitate.
- b. New Settlement Plans or Restructures with a reduced EMI – So you can maintain a satisfactory DBR, preferably not more than 50% of your newly reduced salary or even less, if you are on unpaid leave or similar. Remember, you are not refusing to repay your debt, you are only requiring a concession to help you cope and maintain your payments, whilst still being able to sustain yourself and your family.
- c. Preparation of all your legal documentation required – Before you present your request to your Creditor, i.e. Termination Letter/Salary Reduction Letter/Unpaid Leave Letter, copy of your Passport, Emirates ID and Visa, preferably also a 3m Bank statement of your salary account – keep those on hand when you meet with your Bank Creditor, as you will need them.
- e. Know your Financial Status accurately – There is no room for mistakes when you meet with your Creditor, as they are more experienced than what you are, so they may pose surprising questions, request out of the norm documentation to verify your request, as they have Due Diligence to apply to authenticate your situation and verify your story. So be mentally prepared when you meet with them, have everything on hand and project confidence and positivity, see your request approved and that’s the only work you need to do, because what you put in, you get out, simple logic!
Right now, eliminate any negative mindset you may have because of this ongoing situation, as you must gain clarity to know what you want and take action to secure and achieve, because we still have a long way to go, without having to instill fear from within. So, you need to operate with complete confidence, clarity and positivity to maintain the positive wheels turning for you and create a ricochet, that will be passed onto everyone who comes into contact with you.
Most of all, extend as much kindness, care, support and empathy as to can to your fellow human being, act with humility and serve well, so you can continue to create value in your space, which will have a huge positive impact on your life and progress. There is no time like right now to impose your good will and humanity to everyone who comes into contact with you, because there is no room for any form of negativity, being mean, unkind, hurtful and not supporting others, because we don’t know how the wheels can change for us, if we insist on planting bad seed.
