Breweries Take Time to Assess Employees’ Physical, Mental Well Being

It’s not just in a brewhouse where a brewery member’s job may be long, hard and stressful. Throughout a facility there are daily hurdles. Many breweries take to heart the hardships and tribulations that can be endured and look at how it can help encourage employees to work on their physical and mental well being.

“We feel we are responsible for our employees well being,” said Ninkasi Brewing People Operation Specialist, Amanda Burchard. “One of our goals as a brewery is to have the safest workplace possible. This means we would like to have the healthiest, happiest team to make the best beer possible.”

The Eugene, Oregon brewery is one of many that encourage employees to find a work and life balance and make it a core value.

In Portland, Maine, Allagash Brewing is reported to contribute $25 each pay period to health savings accounts, and the brewery pays 100 percent of other health and disability insurances immediately after hiring a new employee.

Ninkasi has a wellness program, which includes yoga classes, massages, healthy snacks, stress management class, remote employee wellness stipends, a run club, and corporate gym rates, CSA deliveries, smoking cessation incentives, a basketball hoop, fitness room, trail access and a rock climbing wall on its campus.

“As a company we feel work-life balance is so important,” Burchard said. “We work hard together and we also play hard together.”

Burchard stressed that Ninkasi is also very passionate about giving back to the community and helping the communities where it sells beer.

Employees are encouraged to volunteer their time to an organization of their choice and get paid work time for it. It also donates beer to non-profit organizations in its distribution footprint through the “Beer is Love” program.

“It’s always been a focus for us to have a balance of work and life,” Burchard said. “As we grow there is more of a need for us to create programs for our staff to continue to focus on this.”