We’re at a time in our lives where health has become more important than ever and has been thrust into the forefront. Thanks to the ongoing pandemic, everyone must put their health as a top priority and not something to be brushed off so they can keep working. How many times have you sniffled at work and said, “I can’t get sick now. I just can’t,” and then you continued to work?
Prior to the pandemic, it wasn’t uncommon to hear of a person, or people, who were slaves to their jobs and work. They knew that family was important, but work was what paid the bills that helped to take care of the family and put food on the table. Talk about a vicious circle.
The Healthy Workplace Act went into effect on July 1st. The act means that every business in the state of New Mexico is to provide their team members and employees with 64 hours of paid sick leave. This is huge! Many businesses do not offer this kind of benefit to their employees, and this will offer an extra boost of support to the whole person and their families.
New PTO Policy
The new sick leave plan allows companies who offer PTO to use the PTO policy as long as it follows the sick pay regulations. Employees can breathe a little easier and reserve this precious accrued time for a much-needed vacation, either by themselves or with their family. They can step away from work and recharge their batteries and make memories at the same time.
This also ties into mental health. Team members who need to take some time to address their mental health will be able to. Everyone needs a mental break from time to time, and it doesn’t always happen on the weekend.
Team members can take care of not only themselves, but also a sick relative. They will be able to take their children, their parents and their other relatives to get the medical care they need.
Sick team members will be able to stay home and take care of their health instead of worrying about their paycheck and their job. They will be able to keep their illness quarantined to their home and they won’t be spreading it with the public and risk someone else getting sick. They won’t have to worry about work when they should be giving all of their attention to the health of themselves and their families.
Implementing The New Act Into Company Policy
Implementing the Act into company policy will take time for each and every business. But what providing paid sick time will do for the team members, and your company, in the long run is truly amazing. When your team feels supported, they are more willing to come to work, roll up their sleeves and put in the hard work for the company. They feel like they are more than just a number, more than just a body pushing paper. They really feel like they are appreciated by their employer, and that they matter.
This kind of additional support for your team will greatly benefit the company and its customers in the long run. When your team is happy and well taken care of, they will, in turn, take excellent care of your customers and the company in return.
Adversely, while the Act has the best of intentions for New Mexicans, it will also cause some stress to some small business owners as they navigate their way through not only learning the details of the Act, but also whether their business can survive. They have already survived the struggles and uncertainty of the pandemic, and they will be tested yet again to see if their business can withstand a new financial factor being added to their business plans. While sick leave is a new financial factor being added, we feel that our team is worth it.
Supporting Our Teams
Not only should we support the teams within our companies, but it is also important to support the teams of other local businesses in our Land of Enchantment so that they can ease their mind of this potential worry. Our assistance will help with providing this new benefit to their team members, but also in keeping their doors open for the foreseeable future.
The team with Albuquerque Plumbing Heating & Cooling is hopeful that our plumbers, HVAC technicians, electricians and office personnel will continue to thrive with this new benefit. The company has always provided a generous leave policy to its team members and has always encouraged them to use their hard-earned PTO. This allows them to the chance to recharge their batteries and spend time with their family and friends.
There were some questions over how the paid sick time would be done within our company. After some careful thought and consideration for the team members of Albuquerque Plumbing Heating & Cooling, instead of incorporating sick leave with our PTO, it was added because we want our team to have a balance between work and personal time. Their families are part of the reason they come into work every day.
We invest in our team members in every way possible, and we are proud to now add paid sick time as part of the team investment.