Fit for the Job: Why Health is Key to Business Growth for Tradies
Working in Trade and Construction is a physically demanding job and can take a massive toll on your body. As a business owner, that toll is often amplified by the increased stress and lack of time that comes with running a business.
The world of health and wellness can be overwhelming, with endless aspects, conflicting information, and the feeling that there’s always something more to focus on or be concerned about. That’s why I am going to break it down into four main pillars:
- Exercise
- Sleep
- Nutrition
- Mindset
Looking after each of these pillars is vital for being able to function at your best. They all individually play a role in our energy, mood, and overall performance. When we neglect one, unfortunately, the others will pay the price.
But don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom. The beauty of understanding the importance of each of these pillars is that once you do, there are quick and easy steps you can take that will result in you seeing a difference almost immediately.
Exercise
To avoid sounding like a broken record and telling you how important it is to exercise for your health, I am going to skip that part and jump straight to telling you why it’s crucial for you as a Trade Business Owner.
It’s a common tale: “I’m on the tools all day; that’s exercise.” Yes, being a tradie involves long, intense days filled with pushing, pulling, lifting, and fixing. However, not exercising outside of work can lead to injuries and an expensive physio bill.
Exercise has many incredible benefits, positively impacting all other pillars of wellness. For those in labour-intensive jobs, one critical benefit is injury prevention.
“Over 90% of tradies experienced work-related injuries or pain in the past year, with 90% of these injuries caused or worsened by work.” – Australian Physiotherapy Association, 2024
Including strength training, stretching, walking, or yoga in your routine a few times a week significantly reduces your risk of injury. It strengthens the muscles that support you throughout the day, providing extra support to the areas that need it.
As a business owner, ensuring your team takes care of themselves and their bodies is crucial for efficiency and success. No one wants their key team member out for a month due to a back injury. Implementing short warm-ups before starting the day, offering gym memberships, and educating your team on the importance of exercise for their physical health and longevity are great ways to minimise workers’ comp days.
Sleep
Sleep can feel like a distant memory, especially for those with young kids. Our bodies need consistent sleep to function. Sleep allows our bodies and minds to rest, restore, and replenish, enabling efficient functioning the next day.
Without adequate sleep, our mental, physical, and emotional health suffers. We become more susceptible to illness, our bodies get weak and our attention, memory, focus, and decision-making abilities are impaired. Inadequate sleep also impacts our ability to manage our emotions, stabilise our mood and manage stress, which impacts our performance, productivity and relationships.
As a business owner, these areas are not areas you want to consistently fall short in. It can be easy to fall into the routine of staying up until midnight doing your admin but there is only so long that your body is going to be able to handle that routine before your performance will start to be impacted.
Shifting the narrative and way that you think about sleep and productivity is the first step to improving it. Understand why sleep is important, how it impacts your brain and what getting enough sleep will help you do better. Be wise with your time management and prioritise sleep just as you prioritise eating and drinking water. Understand its importance because you could be looking after yourself, eating well and exercising, but if you aren’t getting enough sleep that hard work will go to waste because your body isn’t given enough time to reap the benefits.
Nutrition
Unfortunately, servo meat pies and dare iced coffees just won’t cut it anymore. While delicious, starting your day with a 10-buck brekky deal will lead to a 3 PM crash.
Whether you’re on the tools full-time, part-time, or in the office, your body cannot function without proper food. Food is fuel, and relying on sausage rolls and red bulls is like putting unleaded petrol in a diesel car.
If you want to perform at your best, you need to fill your tank with the right fuel. Eating enough throughout the day and making sure that you are getting your macros in. Proteins, Fats and Carbs are needed for your body to be able to function at a cellular level and are all responsible for different things. Protein is crucial for muscle function and repair. Fats are essential for nerve and cell production. Carbs provide us with energy that is long-lasting and gets us through the day. Make sure you are getting all 3, and make sure you are getting enough of them.
The best way to start implementing good eating habits into your work day is by stopping the temptation. Meal prep, take your lunch to work so you don’t need to buy lunch. Make sure you have heaps of healthy, high-protein snacks with you to keep you full, avoid going into the servo, bakery, maccas with the boys and eat what you have brought with you.
Mindset
Mental health and mindset are more discussed now than ever and are central to overall health. They are both the cause and effect of the other aspects of health and need to be protected.
Mindset is crucial for running your business successfully, handling stress, juggling tasks, managing a team, and being able to switch off to spend time with family. By protecting the other pillars of health, we set our minds up for optimal success.
While mindset is a vast topic, looking after the other pillars of health is foundational. Exercise, sleep, and nutrition have significant impacts on our minds. Here are three quick facts on the body-mind link:
- Exercising releases endorphins and serotonin, the feel-good hormones.
- Our guts are known as our second brain, responsible for producing 95% of serotonin.
- Adequate sleep is crucial for brain and body function, improving mood, memory, and stress management.
Being a Tradie Business Owner is physically and mentally demanding. It requires hard work, dedication, and the ability to wear multiple hats. Despite the challenges, it’s a rewarding role that provides freedom. By prioritising health across exercise, sleep, nutrition, and mindset, you can ensure your business thrives and remains fit for the job.