Inc. magazine recently announced its best workplaces, and Vineyard’s Manly Bands found itself on that list along with 10 other Utah companies.
Johnathan Ruggiero, a co-founder, said that he is super honored and excited for the company to be a part of the Inc. best workplaces list, saying it is something the company has always strived for.
“We have always wanted to create a work environment and atmosphere that made our team feel valued and just gave them the recognition they deserved,” Ruggiero said. “We wouldn’t be here without our team, so we always try to go above and beyond to take care of them.”
He added that the recognition goes back to the culture he and his wife have tried to foster at the company, building a collaborative and team-based group of employees. While different employees have different responsibilities, he considers everyone as equal — just with different roles.
It’s an all-encompassing family at Manly Bands, according to Ruggiero, which goes a long way to make people feel included and make sure they are taken care of.
The Inc. description for Manly Bands on the best workplaces list said that employees at Manly Bands say it is “a work utopia where everyone’s voice is heard and people love what they do. There is no micromanaging, and we all cheer each other on.”
Along with that, the company moved to a remote work environment during the pandemic, even moving inventory to employees’ homes to make sure they felt safe.
An aspect that was touched on by Inc. was the fact that Manly Bands pays for 100% of the health insurance costs for employees and their dependents as well. Co-founder Michelle Luchese said that it gives employees one less worry outside of the workplace.
Work-life balance is also critical to the co-founders, mandating two weeks off per year with more flexible paid time off for employees as well.
“We really do encourage that work-life balance,” Ruggiero said. “So many of our team members are overachievers and they insist on working.”
The company has only been in Utah since 2019 and has only been in business since 2016, so this recognition was not something Ruggiero was expecting to get early on in the business’ life, but he attributed it to the workers for the company.
Along with the company being in the best workplaces, Ruggiero and Luchese spoke to the quality of life and pull that Utah and Utah County bring as well.
“Once they get here they are blown away and never want to leave,” Ruggiero said. “Utah and Utah County specifically offers so much for so many different lifestyles and everybody we bring out here says the same thing, ‘It is so beautiful here,’ ‘ It’s such a beautiful place.'”