Corporate Massage Therapy by Toni Smothers (SOLD 6/10/10)
Massage therapy at the workplace is catching on across the country. There are varied ways to incorporate this workforce and management bonus. Employers who want to go the extra mile for their workers find massage at work to benefit all levels of employees. Your company can schedule certified massage therapists to perform worksite massage for weekly, bi-weekly or monthly appointments.
Some companies split office massage therapy fees with their employees; others cover the cost as a performance incentive. Another option available is to simply allow a twenty minute break time for your employees, so that they can take advantage of a self-paid chair massage session during the work day. Fees for a massage therapist run an average of $1.00 per minute for chair massage. The massage therapist will likely expect a tip, if services rendered were performed to the recipient’s satisfaction, unless an up-front gratuity has been previously agreed upon.
Hectic schedules, customer demands, as well as personal stress factors, can all adversely influence a person’s work day. Maladies of all kinds have been attributed to stress. Spending much time in a chair hunched over a computer can tighten muscles in the shoulders and cause discomfort. Headache often accompanies tight muscles in the neck. Working out these stiff neck and shoulder muscles can refresh creativity and attentiveness. Massage therapy relieves tension and stress levels, while heightening employee morale and affording an overall feeling of employment satisfaction.
Massage therapy invites relaxation and renewal, as well as relief from pain. While heart rate and breathing slow, blood pressure is lowered and the production of stress hormones decreases. Additionally, serotonin, a chemical that has a positive affect on emotions, is increased. Once relaxation is achieved, fatigue, anxiety and even digestive disorders are alleviated. The physical manipulation of muscles increases blood circulation, which works along side the relaxation response to culminate in enhanced distribution of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. When muscle tissue relaxes, painful soreness and spasms cease.
Sometimes, nerves can be compressed when the muscles surrounding them contract. While nerves are supposed to transmit massages back and forth from the brain to the body, tightened muscles can impede the function of the nerves. When muscles are made to relax through massage, the nerves are able to perform optimally. Neurological pain signals to muscles, bones and nerves can be lessened, or even eliminated. Massage can benefit deeper tissues by releasing tension in superficial layers of muscles as the whole body comes back into balance.
Suburban Chicago law firm, Kovitz, Shifrin, and Nesbit and the Colorado Health Institute, in Denver, are just two vastly different type companies that offer their employees massage therapy for very similar reasons: Increased productivity and job satisfaction. Just take Google, for example: they even have a “Google Massage Program Manager.” Corporate massage is taken very seriously by the people at Google. Their employees can’t rave enough about how much they appreciate a little time off from a grueling day for an invigorating massage. (You can view a YouTube video, accessible from Google’s site, praising the benefits of massage therapy.)
Absenteeism is very costly to any business. Colds, viruses, tension headaches, sciatica, all kinds of disease and malfunction of the body, can be attributed to stress. Massage therapy may be helpful for many of the common causes that keep workers home when they are needed at their job on a regular work day. With decreases in pain and increased functioning of the employee’s health, fewer sick days can be achieved through the regular use of massage therapy. Enhancement of the immune system and recovery from illness would go a long way toward justifying the implementation of chair massage therapy at the workplace.
It is not really clear how much relief can be expected with the occasional use of chair massage. But, there will be definite rewards that will be visible: the indulgence will offer your employee something new and unusual to break up the day and it is almost certain that you will earn the gratitude of your employee.
Employees who demonstrate maximum reliability, productivity and loyalty are those who appreciate the fact that the company they work for has employee well-being as a strong priority. Adding corporate massage therapy to your employee benefits package might just be to your company’s benefit.
Massage therapy at the workplace is catching on across the country. There are varied ways to incorporate this workforce and management bonus. Employers who want to go the extra mile for their workers find massage at work to benefit all levels of employees. Your company can schedule certified massage therapists to perform worksite massage for weekly, bi-weekly or monthly appointments.
Some companies split office massage therapy fees with their employees; others cover the cost as a performance incentive. Another option available is to simply allow a twenty minute break time for your employees, so that they can take advantage of a self-paid chair massage session during the work day. Fees for a massage therapist run an average of $1.00 per minute for chair massage. The massage therapist will likely expect a tip, if services rendered were performed to the recipient’s satisfaction, unless an up-front gratuity has been previously agreed upon.
Hectic schedules, customer demands, as well as personal stress factors, can all adversely influence a person’s work day. Maladies of all kinds have been attributed to stress. Spending much time in a chair hunched over a computer can tighten muscles in the shoulders and cause discomfort. Headache often accompanies tight muscles in the neck. Working out these stiff neck and shoulder muscles can refresh creativity and attentiveness. Massage therapy relieves tension and stress levels, while heightening employee morale and affording an overall feeling of employment satisfaction.
Massage therapy invites relaxation and renewal, as well as relief from pain. While heart rate and breathing slow, blood pressure is lowered and the production of stress hormones decreases. Additionally, serotonin, a chemical that has a positive affect on emotions, is increased. Once relaxation is achieved, fatigue, anxiety and even digestive disorders are alleviated. The physical manipulation of muscles increases blood circulation, which works along side the relaxation response to culminate in enhanced distribution of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. When muscle tissue relaxes, painful soreness and spasms cease.
Sometimes, nerves can be compressed when the muscles surrounding them contract. While nerves are supposed to transmit massages back and forth from the brain to the body, tightened muscles can impede the function of the nerves. When muscles are made to relax through massage, the nerves are able to perform optimally. Neurological pain signals to muscles, bones and nerves can be lessened, or even eliminated. Massage can benefit deeper tissues by releasing tension in superficial layers of muscles as the whole body comes back into balance.
Suburban Chicago law firm, Kovitz, Shifrin, and Nesbit and the Colorado Health Institute, in Denver, are just two vastly different type companies that offer their employees massage therapy for very similar reasons: Increased productivity and job satisfaction. Just take Google, for example: they even have a “Google Massage Program Manager.” Corporate massage is taken very seriously by the people at Google. Their employees can’t rave enough about how much they appreciate a little time off from a grueling day for an invigorating massage. (You can view a YouTube video, accessible from Google’s site, praising the benefits of massage therapy.)
Absenteeism is very costly to any business. Colds, viruses, tension headaches, sciatica, all kinds of disease and malfunction of the body, can be attributed to stress. Massage therapy may be helpful for many of the common causes that keep workers home when they are needed at their job on a regular work day. With decreases in pain and increased functioning of the employee’s health, fewer sick days can be achieved through the regular use of massage therapy. Enhancement of the immune system and recovery from illness would go a long way toward justifying the implementation of chair massage therapy at the workplace.
It is not really clear how much relief can be expected with the occasional use of chair massage. But, there will be definite rewards that will be visible: the indulgence will offer your employee something new and unusual to break up the day and it is almost certain that you will earn the gratitude of your employee.
Employees who demonstrate maximum reliability, productivity and loyalty are those who appreciate the fact that the company they work for has employee well-being as a strong priority. Adding corporate massage therapy to your employee benefits package might just be to your company’s benefit.
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