Bridging the Gap Between Wellness and Productivity

By Sam Bowman

Once upon a time, business owners might have paid little attention to the lives and well-being of their employees outside of working hours. Relationships between employers and employees were largely transactional. The employees contributed their labor during designated business hours and in return, the employer provided fair compensation, good benefits (hopefully), and safe working conditions.

But that was pretty much the end of the story. How an employee lived, spent their time, and thrived (or not) outside of the office might have been of interest to the employer, but it was typically not a prevailing business concern.

In recent years, however, savvy business leaders have begun to take a different tack. They have come to recognize the profound connection between the employees’ lives outside of the company and their productivity and performance in it.

This is as true for the skilled trades as it is for white-collar jobs, if not more so. And that is why, if you own or manage a plumbing company, one of the best things you can do to enhance your workers’ productivity is to prioritize their wellness.

This article describes the connection between wellness and productivity in the plumbing industry. It also provides actionable strategies to optimize the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of your team as a tool to promote overall productivity in your plumbing company.

Wellness and Productivity

Any good business owner knows that employees aren’t automatons. They can’t simply turn off their troubles when they walk through the company door. Whatever is happening in their personal lives off hours will, inevitably, bleed into their work performance to some degree.

And while you certainly can’t control what employees do or experience off campus, you can provide resources to help your team live their best lives both on the job and off. This includes giving your employees tools to ensure total wellness, from enhancing physical health to promoting mental well-being.

In return for your efforts to support your employees’ health and happiness, you can expect not only higher productivity, but also less absenteeism and turnover and more engagement.

Supporting Work/Life Balance

In the face of an ongoing labor shortage, particularly in the trades, maintaining a healthy work/life balance can be a formidable challenge for your employees. Not only may they feel that it’s logistically impossible for them to take a needed vacation day or even to refuse to work overtime, but they may fear the repercussions of doing so.

However, if you want to keep your workers healthy, focused, engaged, and motivated, it’s imperative to create a workplace culture that truly supports work/life balance. Providing ample opportunities for paid time off and instituting restrictions on overtime work can help your team feel comfortable in taking the time they need to rest, recharge, and rejuvenate themselves for the next workday.

Supporting Workers’ Extracurriculars

Extracurriculars aren’t just for students. In fact, helping your employees cultivate a physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially rewarding lifestyle outside of the office is a great way to enhance their work performance.

For instance, regular engagement in a hobby such as gardening, hiking, painting, playing an instrument, or dancing, can significantly improve your employees’ memory and concentration. The good news is that there are many things you can do to incentivize your employees to engage in extracurricular activities. You might, for instance, offer discounted memberships to a health facility where they can engage in exercise classes, sports, dance, yoga, or physical activities.

You might also host recreational events for your team and their families. This might include anything from starting up a company bowling or softball team to less structured activities, such as biking, hiking, swimming, or camping once or twice a month.

Supporting Financial Wellness

Promoting your employees’ productivity and performance is, to be sure, predicated on the optimization of your employees’ physical, mental, and emotional well-being. But there’s another element: financial wellness. When your employees are stressed out, anxious, and worried about their finances, not only will their work performance be compromised, but so too will their physical and mental health.

However, by offering financial literacy courses, you can help your team cultivate the sense of financial security they need to thrive. This might include education in budgeting and investing, college and retirement planning, and medical and personal debt management.

The Takeaway

Supporting your employees’ wellness isn’t a mere kindness. It simply makes good business sense. When your team is healthy in body, mind, spirit, and finances, your plumbing company will thrive. The key is both to cultivate a company culture of wellness and to provide your team with the tools they need to create a healthy lifestyle.

Sam Bowman writes about people, tech, wellness, and how they merge. He enjoys getting to utilize the internet for community without actually having to leave his house. In his spare time he likes running, reading, and combining the two in a run to his local bookstore.