We live in a time where our attention is being pulled in several different directions at once. Clarity of focus is important, and a big part of that is maintaining a proper work/life balance. Here are a few of the things that we pay close attention to at Wisler Plumbing to make sure everyone on our team strikes a balance that makes them happy.
It all starts with a company that’s conscious of the fact that employees probably spend more time at work than they do at home with their family. That’s just the nature of having a job, but we’ve found out how to make it much easier. If we treat everybody as if they are a family member, we’ll all have an entirely different perspective on work. Everyone who works at Wisler Plumbing gets a warm welcome that makes them feel at home with people that really care about them.
The next thing that we do is make sure that we’re not wearing people down with excessive hours. We want everyone on our team to feel fresh and energized when they are visiting a client’s home. Since some of our employees work days that are longer than 8 hours, we set up a four day workweek instead of a five day workweek. We also don’t want to put a strain on employees by not giving them enough family time. To ensure that doesn’t happen, we have a rotation day so that they put in no greater than 50 hours a week. (On average, it’s really around 45 hours.)
There are some employees on our team that work later in the evening. We make sure that they don’t have to come in until 9:30 or 10:00 a.m. the following day. Having a later start time for people that work late in the evening gives them a chance to spend time with their family during breakfast. The morning is an important time for families to spend together. If someone has to get up very early for work, they’ll miss out on that valuable time they could have spent with children before they go to school or with a spouse before they go off to work.
Sunday is an important day for families, and it’s an important day for me personally. I get to spend the day with my family, and we all have a chance to go to church together. Since Sunday is important for all of the employees at Wisler Plumbing, we recently made a change so that everyone would be able to spend the day with their family. Only if one of our clients is experiencing a dire emergency (water pouring through the ceiling, for instance) will we call an employee on Sunday. Otherwise, everyone has the day off. It really goes a long way towards maintaining that work/life balance.
As for me, my workweek is probably a little longer than 50 hours. However, one of the things that I always try to do is reserve the weekend to spend with my family. Even though I might be busy during weekdays, we can still enjoy Saturday and Sunday together. My theory is, if you can’t get something done in five long workdays, then you’re probably not going to get it done in six or seven.
There’s always going to be more work for us to get done. Having people that are full of energy and thinking with a fresh mind is extremely important to us. We want to keep our priorities set straight so that our clients will receive a great experience.
If you have any questions about maintaining a proper work/life balance, contact us online or give us a call at (540) 685-0366.
