Guest post from Laura Smith, Marketing Assistant/Communications Editor with Albuquerque Plumbing Heating & Cooling.

Albuquerque Plumbing Heating & Cooling, a Platinum Awardee and supporter of Family Friendly New Mexico, talks about how the new Healthy Workplaces Act will affect New Mexican employers and employees.
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A local business’ perspective on the newly passed New Mexico Healthy Workplaces Act.

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 continuously overextended themselves at work. They knew that family was important, but work was what paid the bills that helped to take care of the family. Talk about a vicious circle.

With the passing of the Healthy Workplace Act, 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.

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 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.

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.

As we support the teams within our companies, it is also important to continue to support our local businesses in our Land of Enchantment by buying local so that they can ease their mind of this potential worry. By buying local, we can help businesses keep their doors open and also provide this new benefit to their team members.

Laura Smith, Marketing, Assistant/Communications Editor at Albuquerque Plumbing Heating & Cooling.

A native of southern Ohio, Laura Smith moved to Albuquerque as a child with her family. She’s the youngest of three children and the only girl. During her adolescence, she developed a love of writing and pursued any opportunity to showcase that passion. Upon entering college at the University of New Mexico, she knew she wanted to earn her bachelor’s degree in an area that would allow her to continue writing. While attending the University of New Mexico, she decided to work towards her degree with a double major in Print Journalism and German, which she received in 2008.

After joining Albuquerque Plumbing Heating & Cooling, she quickly learned she was working for the right company and with the right people. Her writing skills were discovered immediately by her fellow team members and those skills have helped her capture the company’s message and to share it with the community. Laura has been published in multiple publications in the Albuquerque metro area and currently writes weekly blogs for Albuquerque Plumbing that feature topics varying anything from home service tips to family friendly activities.

When she’s not at the office, Laura enjoys spending her time with her 4-year-old son, watching movies and experimenting with new recipes.