There is a great saying that everything comes with its pros and cons. A great rapport with your colleague may keep you vibrant and passionate but that also comes with the possibility that they may ask you for financial assistance at some time.

When caught in the later scenario, a calculative approach might be needed before you make the decision to help them or not. Its a situation where you have to navigate carefully. There are few things to consider that can help you to reach a better decision and in this post, we will try to list some considerations. But before listing them, let us discuss an important thing below.

How To Respond to Colleague when they ask for Financial Assistance?

Its not the easiest of job to handle a situation when your colleague is requesting you to help him financially. Depending on whether you are capable of helping them or not, there are two types of replies you can go with.

When you are not capable of helping monetarily : – “I really appreciate that you placed trust in me for helping you out financially. I want to help you in any way but unfortunately, providing financial assistance isn’t something that I would be able to do at this time.

With that being said, I am always available to help you in other ways such as exploring other financial resources, offering advice or referring to the right sources from where you could get major help. If you are comfortable discussing further, let’s sit down together and brainstorm options for you.”

When you are capable of giving them financial assistance : – “I am glad you reached out to me. I might be able to help you out financially during this tough time. Let’s discuss the details privately to ensure it’s handled discreetly and comfortably for both of us. We’re in this together, and I’m here to support you.”

Checklists for Giving Financial Assistance At Workplace

Affordability and Anticipation : – Before giving financial assistance, its imperative to analyze your current situation whether you can offer it without comprimising on your own financial goals and security.

Considering that you both share the same environment, you may feel akward in declining to help them however, putting yourself at risk may not be a wise decision. You also may want to anticipate a spike in your own financial expenditure in the coming months before making a call.

Setting Boundaries : – It is important to make it clear whether you are giving monetary assistance as a loan or as a gift. If you intent to give it as a loan, do specify the repayment terms, interest in written form. When everything is in written, it is impossible for both parties to deviate from the originally agreed conditions.

Work Relationship & Aftermath : – It can be a difficult scenario to maintain the same work dynamics after you have offered monetary help.

There is also a possibility that the work relationship could get strained. Your colleague may back out from paying you back or take unreasonale time to repay and all of that may cause a dent in the work dynamics also.

No matter how good your colleague is, you cannot deny the possibility that they may leave the organization abruptly which may make it hard for you to reach them and talk about repayment.

Exit Strategy: – Just because your colleague and you are on good terms, that doesn’t guarantee that it will remain the same forever. In the case of non-payment, is there any formal action you would be able to take? If no, then you may have give a second thought before lending money.

Things to keep in mind if you deny monetary assistance

Denying financial assistance to anyone requires a delicate approach of empathy and clear communication. If the matter is about your coworker, then you definitely need to have some things in mind.

Offer Other Alternatives : – Your coworker may feel bad about you declining to give them financial assistance but he will appreciate your efforts to help in other possible ways like budgeting, information about financial resources, or even helping them connect with professional financial advice or services.
Support doesn’t always have to be monetary. Sometimes, offering your time to listen or provide emotional support can be equally valuable.

Maintain Respect, Privacy & Empathy: – Asking a colleague for financial assistance requires courage. Its important to understand the difficulty of your colleague and express empathy for their situation. It is also a good etiquette to not divulge the information to other people. Doing so may cause a negative impact to the reputation of your colleague.

Mindful of the impact at Workplace : – Denial shouldn’t make the professional relationship akward for both of you. Continue to treat your colleague later on with the same respect and professionalism as before.