His wife, Sotiria, went unpaid for almost a year in 2013, after the Greek supermarket chain where she worked declared bankruptcy. Another company bought it, and her monthly salary of €1,100 was cut to €800. She was eventually paid about half of what she was owed. But Mr. Zafiriou said he never received nearly €13,000 in back pay from his old firm.

The family’s bills quickly became insurmountable. They could no longer pay for electricity or a loan on their modest two-bedroom apartment in Keratsini, a working-class suburb of Piraeus, near Athens. The only thing shielding them from eviction — along with thousands of Greeks in similar straits — was a law forbidding banks from repossessing most borrowers’ primary homes.

The family slashed spending on clothing and groceries, and halted therapy for their daughter, Anamaria, 13, who has dyslexia. Low on cash, Mr. Zafiriou sold all of their gold jewelry, except for the cross used at Anamaria’s christening.

With his new job, things are looking up. The couple has rehired a tutor for Anamaria, and Mrs. Zafiriou no longer needs to shop for the very cheapest produce or meat. The primary aim is to pay down all the family’s debts as quickly as possible, even if that leaves nothing at the end of the month.