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The Right Touch Massage |
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Add a refreshing touch to Benefits Program
© Society for Human Resource Management 1998.
Employers find that massage breaks are a cost-effective way to boost productivity and offer employees relief from stress. You've been hearing a lot from employees lately that they're feeling stressed out and stretched thin. Managers in several departments note that morale is down, tension is up, and people are struggling to keep the smile in their voices when they talk to customers. And maybe the HR department is a bit stressed out, too. What can you do? Employee surveys or workload and staffing re-evaluations may come to mind, and those are good long-term approaches. But for a quicker solution, have you considered massage breaks? During the past decade, many businesses have made massage therapy a part of the wellness program. And they've found massage to be a cost-effective benefit that's either fully or partially employee paid. Rates range from $12 to $15 for a 10- to 15-minute chair massage and from $50 to $60 for a full hour of massage therapy. The actual costs may be lower than those given, because companies can often negotiate volume discounts. Forget about the old connotations associated with massage; today's massage therapists are trained to help relieve stress and improve alertness. A study in the International Journal of Neuroscience reported that adults who received two 15-minute massages each week showed signs of marked relaxation and increased speed and accuracy in math computations over the control group members, who didn't have massages. In addition, those receiving massages reported less depression and reduced anxiety levels. "Our employees seem rejuvenated after the massage. They are invigorated, " says Patricia Bucaccio, assistant director of the Working Well program at Cigna Corp. in Philadelphia, which has 3,800 employees. "The feedback we get from people is, `This is the best thing that has happened to me today, and I'm ready to go back and tackle the day.' That's why we have kept the program going." A growing corporate benefit "We wanted our work environment to be more conducive to relaxation in order to take the edge off of the hectic pace in a hospital environment," says Tracy Smith, Wellspring program coordinator for the hospital. "We wanted our hospital to be as sensitive to the needs of our 2,000 employees as we were to needs of patients." While looking for a way to help reduce stress for their personnel, Memorial realized that one of the biggest problems was that many employees could not take off 30 to 40 minutes or longer to go someplace and relax. "Nurses, in particular, have a difficult time coming off the floors even for classes or lunch," Smith says. "That's why having a massage therapist come to them right where they work seemed like a wonderful way to give them a break and help them reduce stress." The typical on-site massage is performed in a portable "chair," which places the employee in a sitting position, leaning forward. No clothing is removed and no privacy is required for the massage. Therapists can set up just about any place that is convenient for the employees and the company. Memorial even has a massage chair in the emergency room. The typical chair massage lasts from 10 to 20 minutes, "about the same amount of time an employee would take for a cigarette break," says Robin Egal, president of New York-based Back to Work Inc., a company that provides massage therapists for businesses. "The employee gets a neck and shoulder massage without having to leave the building. You don't have to do anything but come in, sit down and relax. So, there's not much wasted time." Smith finds that hospital employees work together to arrange time for the massages. "They cover for each other so they can take advantage of this service. It's worth it to them to find the time to help each other." At Intuit, StorageTek and Cigna, exempt employees are allowed time off for a chair massage but are encouraged to use lunch time or other breaks for the service. At Cigna, which also offers full- body massages taking up to an hour, employees must use their own time. Choosing a massage therapist "Some people go into massage because they think they can make good money, and they might not be in touch with their own sense of hands-on ability. I have found through my years of interviewing people to work for our company that a lot of people get out of school but still don't quite have what I consider to be quality talent." Wilkinson suggests that after employers have verified certification, they inquire about the therapist's specific corporate experiences. "Ask how long they have run corporate programs before-and ask for references," she says. "Then you will also want to know about the types of massages they do. I wasn't set on a particular type of massage; I left it open for them to convince me which method was best." Wilkinson also emphasized that she wanted someone with a wellness background, but, "I didn't want someone into really extreme alternative medicines who would be prescribing things. I was really careful to explain to the masseuse that he was there to do massage. Certainly, we both realized that people might ask him questions about vitamins and exercise, but he should refer them to the nutritionists and exercise physiologists that we have in our wellness center. That was a concern of ours because of the issue of liability. He was not qualified to prescribe any medical treatments, although he certainly could frame answers as being his opinion and then refer the person to one of our professionals." Look at liability issues
This type of liability issue and the connotations associated with massage lead some companies to fear that their employees will not be interested in using the benefit. "We have found that usually between 40 percent and 60 percent of the employees in any given workplace will jump at the chance to get a massage," says Watson, "but there are always those who will shy away from it." The group that tends to be the "shyest" are the executives. "We've had a few executives make appointments-but not too many," Orlando says. "I think it's mostly a time issue." Wilkinson noticed the same thing with executives at her company. But she then added that they tend not to use many of the services and programs because they are either out of town or too busy when they return to the office. Bucaccio, on the other hand, has been pleasantly surprised by the number of people in upper management at her company who come for a massage. "It really appeals to a broad range of employees of all ages and levels," she says. Smith, too, has been pleased that several doctors have stopped by when they saw a massage chair in one area of the hospital. "We have some doctors who see it in a unit and take advantage of it," she says. "We've even gone into the doctor's lounge and offered head and neck massages there. We've also used massages in our family practice and residency program. I've had wonderful feedback from the doctors who have tried it." Massage touches the bottom line "Our managers offer gift certificates to some employees as a reward for
working on a project or working late to get some project finished, " says
Orlando. "It's a nice way to tell them they are appreciated." At Memorial,
where the hospital pays on-staff massage therapists, Smith says, "I don't
have any studies or stats on the bottom line for the hospital, but I do
believe it is cost-effective and very inexpensive in relation to other
things that are supported at our hospital. And, quite honestly, it makes
it all worthwhile when you see the faces of the employees who have been
so tense. They take a 10-minute time- out, then they start to calm down
and get in a better mood. When they go back to work and are dealing with
patients and patients' families, they are more pleasant and they do a
better job. That's the kind of bottom line we are interested in." Nancy
Hatch Woodward is a freelance writer based in Chattanooga, Tenn.
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