35 Stories for 35 Years
Blue Zones of Southwest Florida
Guest Contributors: Len Price, Director of Talent, & Aome Rogers, Marketing & Events Manager
What does it mean to be a Blue Zones Approved Worksite®?
Blue Zones Project is partnering with employers across Southwest Florida to create healthier work environments and empowering employees to be happier, healthier and more productive. The Blue Zones Worksite® Pledge promotes evidence-based actions and lifestyle principles to create healthier work environments for employees. Benefits to employers include increased productivity and a potential savings in healthcare costs.
In 2018, PBS Founder Russell Budd expressed interest in this initiative and shared that PBS would be completing the action items required to become a Blue Zones Approved Worksite. Over the following year, PBS completed 37 action items ranging from completing a community project beach cleanup, to holding plant-based potlucks, to having at least 25% of office staff have stand-up desks.
PBS Contractors is committed to the wellbeing of its team members. These are not just empty words that we say, it’s what we do. Our purpose as a company is to build better lives for our team, our clients, and our community. We do this by operating within a set of fundamental beliefs that support our purpose. Among them are three in particular that make being a Blue Zones Worksite a natural fit. They are 1) Work hard, but remember there is more to life; 2) Build a better life for someone today; and 3) Have fun.
From small things like providing healthy snacks in the breakroom to more significant investments like offering stand up desks, the company promotes the Blue Zones initiative and encourages team participation. The company holds social events like barbeques and after work social hours, is a major supporter of the annual Farm City Barbeque that supports agricultural organizations and the Leadership Collier Foundation, and participates in numerous community events.
Like everyone else, the pandemic put a damper on our efforts for a while, but we are ramping up and recharging our program in 2022. We will be offering our team the opportunity to join numerous healthy activities and challenges, providing weekly mindfulness reminders, and seeking new ways to reduce stress and lead healthier lifestyles.
The pandemic taught us all many lessons… one of which is that life is short, so we need to make the most of it. PBS knows that a happy, healthy workforce makes better team members, family members, and community members. We are committed to doing our part to contribute and we challenge all workplaces, large and small, to do the same.
For more information on being a Blue Zones Southwest Florida Approved Worksite, visit https://southwestflorida.bluezonesproject.com/.
