Offering massage as an employee benefit has been a priority in pioneering companies for years.
Google employs 35 massage therapists that offer massage 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The Google massage program has proven to be so good for business that they’re rolling out a plan to hire more therapists, so they can triple the number of massages they give each week.
Dr. Brent Bauer’s research, of the Mayo Clinic, has validated the positive effects of massage therapy on job performance and mental alertness resulting in improved accuracy and the reduced stress-induced illnesses.
A 1992 article in the Financial Times trumpets the benefits that companies can reap by offering massage therapy to employees. A company in Ontario, Canada, reported a 25 percent decrease in time off for work-related injuries, and a $200,000 decrease in compensation claims after it implemented a massage therapy program.
The American Institute of Stress states that an estimated 1 million workers are absent every day due to stress. Repetitive musculoskeletal injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome have become the nation’s leading workplace health cost and account for almost a third of all workers’ compensation awards. Massage has been shown to help in reducing these kinds of injuries, leading to reduced absenteeism, fewer workers’ compensation claims, and less cost to employers.
Massage Helps Build Stronger Workplace Cultures
Companies big and small have discovered the benefits of wellness in the workplace, and they’re using massage as a way to attract and keep employees.
Burt Abrams of B.J. Abrams & Associates, an executive recruiting firm in suburban Chicago has offered his employees chair massage over the past several years. “It is a benefit for stress relief, and it feels good,” he says. “It is a benefit that doesn’t cost a whole lot of money, and it gets a lot of good will from your employees.”
At the Colorado Health Institute, Kathy Helm sits at a computer all day. She said one of the benefits of a massage is that is reveals problems that she didn’t even realize existed. “You go in and get the massage, and you’ve got this problem and this problem and this knot,” Helm says. “Once you get it worked out, you’re able to do things better. You don’t have that tension.”
Employees who are happy and free of stress are more happy and productive. “We spend a lot less for this benefit than some of the other benefits that we give them,” explains John Hasmonek, at a Chicago-based accounting firm that offers employees monthly on-site massage therapy. “Employees look at discounts, overtime, and bonuses as things they have earned as a right. This is something they look at as an employer’s good will, something they do because they care.” By Pete Reinwald in the Massage Therapy Journal – Summer 2009
Employee Wellness Pays Off In Unusual Ways
Crain’s Chicago Business states businesses with as few as 14 staff members, as well as large corporations like Motorola and Amoco, are now hiring massage therapists to perform massage in the workplace.
The February 2000 issue of E-Touch, a newsletter of the American Massage Therapy Association, adds that massage is cheaper than vacation and child care benefits, and more than a low-cost office perk. It goes on to say that massage reduces work-related stress, improves alertness, performance and productivity, and even keeps people feeling well enough to stay at work when they would rather go home.
HR Magazine, October, 1998, pp. 107-110, recently published a story about massage that describes various corporate wellness programs, all of which include massage as an employee benefit. Some of these programs are new; some have been in place for years. All are successful. Employees are feeling less stress, are more productive on the job and are less likely to take unplanned time off from work. The positive effect of massage in the workplace reaches everyone.
Research Confirms Massage Therapy Enhances Health
Guests aren’t the only people recognizing the benefits of massage.
Physicians and other healthcare providers are increasingly recommending massage therapy to their patients as a supplement to traditional health care. According to one national survey, 54 percent of primary care physicians and family practitioners would encourage their patients to pursue massage therapy as a treatment, especially for acute and chronic lower back pain.
During periods of stress, the effectiveness of the body’s immune system is reduced.
Research indicates that massage can increase the immune system’s cytotoxic capacity (the activity level of the body’s natural “killer cells”) and decrease the number of T-cells, which improves the body’s immune functioning overall. From the February, 2000 issue of E-Touch, a newsletter of the American Massage Therapy Association.
Our Business Is Designed To Help Your Business Thrive
Our Lemongrass Wellness Membership Program allows you to offer your employees regular massages and create a healthy, productive and prosperous workplace environment.
It allows you to enjoy all the benefits that regular massage provides to your team and business without the hassle of finding and hiring qualified professionals.
Our team of highly trained massage therapists focus on providing relaxation and results, so your team can do what they do best.
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Take a peek at all the benefits you receive as a Lemongrass Wellness Member.
You’re free to sign up for as many memberships as you need to fit the size of your business.
You can use your membership to reward exceptional work, boost morale or give as a wonderful surprise. The ideas are endless on how you can use a single or multiple memberships to help you and your team thrive.
Give us a call now to see how we can work together to make it happen.
